Protests During 2021 Federal Election Not Likely Affiliated With ‘Specific Ideology’: RCMP Reports

The Mounties say threats made targeted all major party leaders

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is escorted by his RCMP security detail as protesters shout and throw gravel while leaving a campaign stop at a local micro brewery during the Canadian federal election campaign in London, Ont., on Sept. 6, 2021. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

The RCMP says protests held during the 2021 federal election did not appear to align with “any specific ideology” or group, and that threats reported were found to target all major party leaders.

In a series of “Strategic Intelligence Brief” reports throughout last year’s election period, the RCMP noted that protests opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the time were likely made up of people who have no affiliation with any particular ideology.

“Current anti-vaccine themed protests directed towards the Prime Minister are likely attracting individuals who are not aligned with any specific ideology or group but who have experienced personal hardships due to Covid-19 which they perceive are due to the Liberal government’s response to the pandemic,” wrote the RCMP, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

In addition, the Mounties noted that all major party leaders in the House of Commons received threats during their campaigns.

“Threats against protected persons encompass a range of rhetoric including vague adverse comments ... and more direct comments containing threats with a specific action to be taken against a specific target,” said a report dated Sept. 13, 2021.

“Threats arise in the form of phone calls to the offices of protected persons or other government offices, verbal statements, and social media posts on platforms such as Facebook.”

In total, the RCMP opened 395 files regarding “direct and indirect threats” to party leaders, with “the vast majority” targeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (209), followed by former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole (7), according to the report. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh received four threats while Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet received three.

‘Lessen Our Freedoms’

Protests broke out across the country on Sept. 13, 2021, as governments started imposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination mandates on public employees, including health care workers and first responders.

Canadian Frontline Nurses, a medical freedom advocacy group that organized protests outside of hospitals last Sept. 1 and Sept. 13, said at the time that it was taking a stand against “tyrannical measures and government overreach.”

In response to the protests, Parliament last December passed Bill C-3, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, making it a criminal offence to intentionally obstruct or interfere “with another person’s lawful access” to a hospital or clinic or impede health professionals “in the performance of their duties.”

The bill, which took effect on Jan. 16, carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years should a person be found guilty of breaching it.

In his comments during a Senate sitting on Dec. 17, 2021—before Bill C-3 was passed by the Senate that day—Sen. Larry Campbell raised his concern over how the bill will on one hand “make it safer for health care workers,” but on the other hand, “lessen our freedoms.”

“One of my concerns is that protest is one of the hallmarks of our democracy for unions and for different groups that want to put forward their views,” he said. “Any time we limit this, we lessen our freedoms.”

Campbell, one of the 24 senators who opposed the bill, condemned those who “harass and intimidate” health care professionals.

“I totally condemn the actions of a minority of Canadians who try to harass and intimidate health care workers. These people are cowards, and they should be sanctioned,” he said.

“But COVID should not be used to lessen the rights of people.”

“Is this democracy? Is this how the Government of Canada is supposed to govern?” he asked.

Andrew Chen contributed to this report.