Threats to politicians may discourage others from running, Ottawa councillor worries

The fallout continues days after a video of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland being verbally accosted by a man while entering an elevator in Alberta went viral on social media.

“What happened to the deputy prime minister was reprehensible,” said Women and Gender Equality and Youth of Canada Minister Marci Ien.

The disturbing video has been condemned by current and former politicians from across Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford tweeting, “the Deputy Prime Minister didn’t deserve this. No one in public office does. This needs to stop”.

Former federal cabinet minister Lisa Raitt posting on her social media to say that “physical intimidation is not a form of democratic expression” and Alberta premier Jason Kenney posted “Screaming threatening language and physical intimidation cross the line”.

Threats and intimidation against politicians is also becoming more common including at the municipal level.

“Certainly that did weigh into my decision to run again,” said Catherine Kitts, Ottawa city councillor for Cumberland Ward. “Being a young woman in politics, I do like to hit home that this is not okay and we need to humanize politicians and reject this hateful rhetoric.”

Kitts, who is seeking re-election in Orléans South-Navan ward, says she’s seen an increase of hateful comments in the last two years. She fears it could discourage people from getting into politics.

Ien said the reality of threats meant she had to weigh her decision to run for office carefully. 

“It was the number one thing my family was worried about when I ran,” said Ien, ”because as a journalist, the level of threats I got--as a black journalist, the threats I got in my life, the life of my children, to run for office was not a small decision to make. This is real. This is real.”

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says all options are being considered to ensure ministers and their teams are safe when travelling.

“The threats we see don’t only impact individuals families and teams it represents a threat to our democracy,” he said. “We need to bring the temperature down.”