All political parties have a part to play in condemning violence, says researcher

CBC

15-03-2025

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A researcher who studies political violence says it's important for politicians across parties to condemn violence when it happens, after a Yukon politician's vehicle was vandalized.
NDP Leader Kate White says she woke Saturday morning to find three of her tires were slashed, and someone had also spray-painted threats on the hood and driver's side door.
The vandalism was condemned by both other Yukon parties, including Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon and Premier Ranj Pillai.
This is the third time a Yukon politician has dealt with vandalism in the past year. White said two of her tires were also slashed just before Christmas, but she wasn't sure then whether that incident was politically motivated. Liberal minister John Streicker had his home vandalized last spring.
Chris Tenove is the assistant director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at University of British Columbia.
In an interview, Tenove said he believes acts of targeted political violence are more common than they used to be, but he had some tips for what can be done to discourage this behaviour.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: I'm wondering how common are incidents like this in Canada right now?
A: I would say we don't know for sure how common these are, but there are a few things that make us think that we are seeing more threats and harassment of elected politicians. One is that there keep being these anecdotes about it.
And as one example, here in British Columbia during our election in the fall back in October, there was a NDP politician running ... [there was] a sign made of him that was hanging on a noose out in a field with the eyes exed out. So pretty disturbing image.
And of course, we've seen online harassment as well as in person threats of federal cabinet ministers and certainly also of municipal politicians around Canada. So it does seem to be getting more common.
In terms of, you know, hard data on these things, we don't really have anyone who's able to track that or has been tracking that in Canada. There is research in the United States out of the Brennan Centre and they've looked at state level officials and found that 43 per cent of them had faced some type of threats during their most recent term or election campaign. So a pretty high proportion.
Q: Do you think that this is more common than it used to be?
A: Yes, I do think it is.
Politicians have often faced anger and sometimes hostility for decisions they've made.
I think it is just because I've done a lot of interviews with politicians on this topic, their sense is that they're facing more hostility. And part of it is that it is both coming to them online and maybe being organized online. But it's also happening in in person situations, in city council meetings when politicians are walking to their vehicle and so forth.
And I think part of it too, was the COVID pandemic, that really did have these kind of social and political tensions that exacerbated, at least for some, some of their hostility or resentment of politicians in the decisions they were making.
And so I think that has played out. And, I know in the Yukon that there was also some, you know, events back during the pandemic that suggested that, that there were folks who were lashing out for government decisions at that time as well.
Q: Does it make sense to say that a climate, or sort of decentralized movement of people who sort of have strong anti-government opinions, is that what's contributing to this? And does that have its roots in the lockdowns and in the pandemic years?
A: I think there is a frustration with government and with a lot of institutions these days. And we see that playing out not just in Canada but in other countries as well.
So I think there is a broader sort of institutional malaise. And yes, I do think that the pandemic did intensify some of this hostility that's playing out in these interactions with politicians.
I'd like to say too, I think it's really important to keep in mind that this isn't the everyday experience of every politician, and that it is also really important to make sure that people feel like they can go into politics, play that role in a safe manner, participate, represent communities, and that there will be the appropriate support for them.
Q: In your research and with the politicians that you've spoken to is this something that is happening more frequently to women in politics?
A: The factor that is most associated with facing threats and hostility is prominence. So the prime minister, leaders of the federal opposition, premiers, regardless of gender or other identity aspects, tend to get the most hostility, threats and harassment.
But I will say from our research we know that women are more likely to face gender harassment and more sexualized threats.
It's also true that racialized individuals face types of harassment that focuses on their identity more often than non-racialized politicians and election candidates. We also know from research that women tend to report being somewhat more affected by the harassment they face. Somewhat more likely to not want to pursue either electoral office or the other research I've done, journalism, because of the ongoing harassment.
So there are disproportionate impacts, it seems, from threats and harassment.
Q: What should the leaders of the other parties here in the territory be doing to help address what occurred at Kate White's home this weekend?
A: I'm glad you asked that, because other politicians, meaning politicians from parties other than the individual who was targeted, have a really important role to play in explaining that this is not acceptable behaviour and offering support for politicians across the spectrum.
I was really heartened to hear that Currie Dixon, the official opposition leader, did come out and say that this is unacceptable.
And it's important, in part because folks who are really motivated in a partisan way and maybe being hostile are more likely to listen to people of a party that they're sympathetic to, perhaps, than to another party whose members are being targeted.
And so I think that's an important contribution that politicians across the spectrum need to make.