OTTAWA –
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s day in the Ottawa area ended early Friday as anti-Liberal protesters gathered outside a brewery before he arrived.
After uneventful stops in Gatineau Park in Quebec and two Ottawa suburbs earlier in the day, Trudeau was on his way to Brasserie Etienne Brule in Embrun, Ontario, about 30 minutes east of Ottawa. The event was canceled before he arrived.
About a dozen protesters gathered across the street from the brewery, including one who carried a banner emblazoned with expletives directed at Trudeau and another who was recording the establishment on his phone.
Plainclothes RCMP officers were stationed outside.
The brewery itself was full both inside and on the patios. Three of those customers sitting on the back patio were asked to leave by a brewery employee. One of them, a woman, approached the RCMP officers, apparently to argue with them briefly before walking away.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that although the event had “regrettably” to be cancelled, the Prime Minister expects to return soon.
Government sources confirmed that the presence of the convoy’s apparent supporters was behind the cancellation. The presence of a large crowd of people inside the restaurant increased the risk of a possible escalation.
It’s the second time in less than two months that Trudeau has been forced to pull out of a planned appearance because of the presence of like-minded people like the “freedom convoy” protesters who blocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks last winter.
On May 24, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the gates of a banquet hall in Surrey, British Columbia, one of them carrying a makeshift gallows with a noose and the words “Treason to Trudeau.” Trudeau chose to address the fundraiser virtually.
Trudeau has been regularly chased by protesters since the last federal election. One election stop in Bolton, Ontario was canceled due to the presence of a large crowd of protesters.
At a later event in London, Ontario, a handful of gravel was thrown at him as he boarded his tour bus. A man was later charged with assault with a weapon.
That man was also arrested in February in Ottawa during the convoy protests.
Protesters have largely rallied against COVID-19 restrictions, including vaccine mandates and mask requirements, but some have also called for Trudeau to resign or be thrown out of office.
Ahead of Embrun’s event on Friday, the big talk of Trudeau’s day was his new short haircut — a man pictured out for ice cream in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans was one of many to notice the cropped locks and comment.
Trudeau also visited a family’s home in Ottawa to discuss the “climate action incentive” payment Canadians received from the federal government. Neighbors gathered as curious onlookers, but there were no protesters in sight.
Earlier in the year, the Freedom Convoy base camp was established in Embrun during the blockades that gripped Ottawa for three weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 15, 2022.
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