A PEI pub has pulled photos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from its social media accounts after receiving a barrage of hateful comments and phone calls.
Trudeau had lunch at the Lone Oak’s Charlottetown pub during a brief stopover on the Island last week.
While in the pub, owners, staff and customers took pictures with the Prime Minister. The pub later posted these photos on its social media platforms.
Jared Murphy, co-owner and CEO of Lone Oak Brewing Company, said they are excited to host the premier at the pub, which only opened for business in mid-May.
“We had thousands of comments”
Three of PEI’s four Liberal MPs, including Charlottetown MP Sean Casey, Malpeque MP Heath McDonald and Cardigan MP Laurence McAuley, were also at the pub and appeared in some of the photos with the premier.
While at Lone Oak, owners, staff and customers posed for pictures with the premier. The pub later posted these photos on its social media pages. (Lone Oak)
“So within a few hours we had thousands of comments, we were getting hundreds of private messages, now we’re getting phone calls to the brewery and all of these comments are extremely negative, vulgar, a lot of profanity is used, sexualization of our staff,” Murphy said in an interview outside the pub .
“To see a group of individuals who have never even visited our establishment, who are taking a political stand, making threats against our brewery, saying they’re going to take us down, that they’re going to wait until we declare bankruptcy until they’re done with us, that was really hard for our staff to see,” he said.
In addition to social media comments, personal messages and phone calls, photos of Lone Oak’s three owners appeared on a national website calling out alleged Trudeau supporters.
“This, of course, seemed to backfire”
Casey described the campaign against Lone Oak as “extremely unfortunate.” He said he contacted the Prime Minister’s Office and was told this has happened in other parts of Canada, but this is the first time it has happened in Atlantic Canada.
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey described the campaign against Lone Oak as “extremely unfortunate”. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)
The Charlottetown MP floated the idea of Trudeau having lunch at the pub.
“I feel bad that the owners are going through this,” Casey said.
“Even if I had thought about the downsides, I would still recommend them. I think it’s an honor to have someone from public life come and it’s a good profile for the business,” he said.
“This of course seems to have backfired to some extent, but I am confident that the islanders will rally around this business and that most of the people offering this abuse are not from here.”
“It was nothing political”
Malpec MP Heath McDonald said the Prime Minister’s visit to the pub was aimed at helping small businesses.
Murphy, left, talks with servers Emma McKinnon and Rachel McKay. Murphy says he was most concerned about the impact of all the criticism on his staff. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)
McDonald blamed “right-wing extremism” for the campaign against the PEI pub.
“It’s a new business, three young guys trying to do it,” McDonald said.
“It was nothing political, it was a visit to a restaurant and an opportunity for them to show themselves to the Prime Minister.
Back at the pub, Murphy said the negative comments haven’t had much of an impact on his business yet. He said a handful of people who say they have supported the pub in the past have told him they will not be returning.
But he is worried about an online campaign to downgrade his pub.
“It’s kind of counterintuitive”
Since launching this online campaign against Lone Oak, the pub’s rating has dropped from 4.8 out of 5 to 2.8.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also met with families at Tea Hill Park in Stratford while in Prince Edward Island last week. (Kate McKenna/CBC)
“And that could have a negative impact on our business, which is really quite disappointing to see,” Murphy said, adding that PEI is a popular tourist destination and many tourists use these ratings to decide where to go.
“For the group of individuals who are now threatening a small business, it’s counterintuitive as far as what they’re doing against the Prime Minister.”
Political commentator and journalist Rick McLean said the political landscape in Canada is getting worse and he points the finger at the US. He believes this is a new reality being imposed by social media platforms and Lone Oak is paying the price.
“I think social media has fundamentally changed the way we get our information, and I worry that as it’s changed the way we get our information, it’s going to change the way we behave, not just how we vote, but how we interact with each other and how we interact with politicians,” McLean said.
“I would certainly open my business to any selected employee”
The owners of the pub are not ruling out taking their concerns to the police.
Despite the online firestorm, Murphy says he would win back the premiership regardless of his political affiliation. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)
Despite the online firestorm, Murphy said he would reinstate the premier regardless of his political affiliation.
“I would certainly open my business to any elected official in our democratic country.”
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