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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Decades after a PM got pied, the threat landscape in Canadian politics has changed
OTTAWA – When Prime Minister Jean Chrétien got hit in the face with a pie 25 years ago, the only thing hurt was his pride. A quarter-century later, Canada's security landscape has changed radically. Threats of violence against politicians have become far more common. What seemed like a harmless prank then looks more like a warning now. 'There is this view that you're a politician, it's all fair game,' said Catherine McKenna — who was herself the target of multiple threats of violence while she served as a federal minister. 'We need people to go into politics and not feel threatened. It's literally about the health of our democracy because if you want people to go into politics, you can't expect that they're going to put up with this and their families are going to put up with it.' Documents released by the Privy Council Office show that the volume of threats made against the prime minister and cabinet ministers has exploded in recent years. A chart shows that there 40 threats against the prime minister and his cabinet were recorded in 2021. That number rose to 91 in 2022, 236 in 2023 and 311 in 2024. The PCO document reports that 11 threats specifically targeting then-prime minister Justin Trudeau were recorded in 2021. The following year saw 25 threats against the PM reported. In 2024, Trudeau was the target of 212 threats, the document shows. Between 2021 and 2024, the Privy Council document shows that Trudeau was the subject of 90 threats of death. The document says the 2024 statistics cover the period between January 1 and July 17. While McKenna said most of the threats against her emerged online, she was famously singled out for very public abuse during her 2015 to 2021 cabinet career — once while walking with her children outside a movie theatre. 'It's just happening all the time and at all levels,' she said. 'I can't talk to a politician without them giving me a story about what has happened, and often women, especially racialized, Indigenous members of the LGBTQ2+ community. 'You just don't know … probably 99 per cent of (threats) are nothing. It just only takes one person … I don't think you can fool around with this.' The P.E.I. pie incident happened on Aug. 16, 2000, while Chrétien was visiting an agricultural exhibition in Charlottetown. As the prime minister entered the building and began shaking hands with people, a man in the crowd went up to him and pushed what appeared to be a cream-topped pie into his face. As a shocked-looking Chrétien peeled off the pie plate and wiped his face, the man — who had attempted to flee — was stopped by police. While the RCMP acknowledged that the incident shouldn't have happened, it wasn't the first such security breach during Chrétien's time as prime minister. In 1996, Chrétien grabbed a protester by the chin and neck and pushed him aside during a National Flag of Canada Day event — the incident that later became known as the 'Shawinigan Handshake.' A year before, Chrétien's wife Aline came face-to-face with an intruder who had managed to break into the prime minister's official residence in Ottawa armed with a knife. Michele Paradis, the RCMP assistant commissioner in charge of protective policing, said police have to strike a 'difficult balance' between keeping officials safe and allowing them access to the public. 'Because, really, if MPs, ministers of the Crown are not going out to meet with their constituents, that has an impact on our very democracy,' she said. 'My role is to make sure that our members and our principals are equipped with not only the physical tools to stop that, but also the mental acuity to be able to say something is not right,' Paradis said, adding that Mounties were quick to bring down someone who got too close to Trudeau at a parade in Montreal in 2019. Paradis said the threat landscape has calmed down somewhat since the recent change of government. If an official is threatened online, she said, Mounties will pay the person levying the threat a visit to determine whether they have the capacity to act on it, or if there is a mental health issue at play. Paradis said the RCMP works with government officials, the House of Commons, constituency offices and security officers for various ministers to complete risk assessments. 'I think we've got a better sense of the picture of what's going on,' Paradis said. There have been several recent efforts to boost security measures for elected officials. In 2024, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme asked the government to consider drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials. Around the same time, former public safety minister Marco Mendicino called for the creation of 'protective zones' around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff. McKenna said she'd like to see an independent protective service created specifically to protect the prime minister and other federal officials. She said she'd like to see the government pass online harms legislation and hold social media companies accountable for the threats posted on their platforms. McKenna said politicians also need to stop launching personal attacks on each other in order to generate social media clips. 'The problem is when they get personal, then it's easy for people to basically dehumanize people,' she said. 'It means that it's OK to say terrible things about people and … it's OK to go up to them and shout at them in the street and threaten them.' When asked if more security measures are needed, Paradis said she and most police officers 'work within what we have now' and adapt when things change. Rob Huebert, a professor in the department of political science at the University of Calgary and director of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies, said the 'near assassination' of U.S. President Donald Trump last year demonstrates that, even today, a determined assassin can still get close to a politician. 'On so many of these events, you can try to have metal detectors, you can try to have pre-screening, but it's impossible to ever try to achieve 100 per cent security … the threat of an assault on a political leader is one of those constants,' he said. 'The threat is always there.' Huebert cited the example of the so-called 'Toronto 18' terrorism plot, exposed in 2006, which was to involve a series of public attacks to convince the federal government to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He said the fact that there have been no successful attacks on Canadian government officials could be the result of improved security — or it could be because no one else has tried. Chris Mathers, a retired RCMP officer and president of a consulting and investigative firm, said the 2000 pie incident shows how Chrétien 'didn't stay in the box' — meaning he often strayed from the protective perimeter provided by his security detail. Trudeau, he said, 'always stayed in the box,' perhaps because, as the son of a prime minister, he grew up aware of threats against politicians. 'If you stay in the box, there's a lot less chance that you're going to be confronted by somebody with a pie or a knife or a gun or a bomb,' Mathers said. Mathers said 'the world is changing' and that people are now 'a lot more aggressive and will do and say things that they wouldn't in the past.' 'The problem is that we've started to degrade into a very permissive society and inappropriate behaviours are almost considered to be courageous in some areas,' he said. 'So yes, security around public figures has increased, just as a result of the changing social environment.' — With files from Jim Bronskill This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Chrétien offers advice to Carney on dealing with Trump as Canada prepares to host G7
OTTAWA — Three days before G7 leaders converge on Kananaskis, Alta., former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has some advice for Prime Minister Mark Carney for dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'If he has decided to make a show, to be in the news, he will do something crazy. So let him do it. Keep talking normally,' Chrétien said of Trump to attendees of a pre-G7 conference organized by the University of Calgary on Thursday. 'He tends to be a bully once in a while, and don't lose your cool when you have a bully in front of you… unless you grab him by the neck,' he added, earning laughs from the crowd for the reference to his famous 1996 'Shawinigan Handshake' with a protester's throat . Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Chrétien's advice to Carney comes as the Canadian government is avidly working to ensure that this G7 — scheduled from June 15 to 17 — doesn't end in the same disarray as the 2018 edition in Charlevoix, Que. At the time, Trump and the U.S. had initially agreed to sign on to the final joint statement, only to pull out in spectacular fashion via a Tweet lobbed from Air Force One calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'dishonest and weak' over criticism of American tariffs. During a background briefing for reporters Thursday, a senior government official highlighted that Canada had proposed a different route to its G7 partners, the U.S., France, the U.K., Japan, Italy and Germany. Instead of a single comprehensive joint statement agreed upon by all parties at the end of the meeting, sherpas — the top bureaucrats for each G7 country — and their teams are currently working on six smaller joint statements. The statements are expected to focus on similar topics as the leaders' meeting sessions: wildfires, critical minerals, immigration and migrant flows, foreign interference and transnational repression, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Essentially, parties have agreed to separate the typical comprehensive joint statement into mini statements that can be released as countries agree on the content. The new format is meant to address fears that consensus may not be reached on specific topics, which risks kiboshing the entire communiqué. 'The G7 is a group where consensus is essential. For us, it's important to find the subjects on which we can find consensus,' the government official explained. 'We want action, so that's the reason why we have statements on certain topics, like critical minerals.' As is the case for most diplomatic gatherings, much of the text will be decided between sherpas and diplomatic corps before foreign leaders even step foot in Canada. Asked if there was a certain anticipation about how Trump may act at the G7, Germany's ambassador to Canada Mattias Lüttenberg said that dialogue is key when tensions are high. 'It's just so important to talk to each other and not just, as we say in Germany, pull up your eyebrows and crinkle your nose,' he said in an interview. 'We have to talk to one another. We have to find a common ground and work jointly for the interest of our security, of our economies and of our people.' Trump comes to Canada as both countries are reportedly actively exchanging draft deals to put an end to at least some of the U.S. tariffs implemented by the Americans this year and corresponding Canadian counter-tariffs. The tariffs that Trump imposed against key Canadian sectors, such as steel, aluminium and foreign autos, as well as baseline 10 per cent border levies against virtually every other country are certain to be top of mind throughout the two days of discussions. There is a stark contrast between the summit's key themes under Carney and those of the last Canadian G7 presidency in 2018 under Justin Trudeau. Seven years ago, leaders discussed topics such as gender equality and women's empowerment, climate change and clean energy, 'investing in growth that works for everyone' and global peace. Fast forward to this weekend and the topics sound a little more appealing to a former central bank governor, with no clear mention of gender, equality or climate change topics. 'I would say that climate is actually integrated quite significantly in our agenda,' the Canadian senior government official countered to inquisitive reporters Thursday, arguing there was some continuity in topics such as artificial intelligence and critical minerals. 'Critical minerals are essential to tackling climate change, given that they are required for the energy transition,' she noted. 'Clearly, climate change is one of the factors behind the increased incidence of wildfires.' On Thursday, Canadian officials warned that this summer is lining up to be the second worst wildfire season in Canadian history. Leaders from non-G7 countries will also be in attendance, namely the heads of Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil. As the host of the event, Carney is expected to have bilateral meetings with each other leader in attendance. Canada had invited the crown prince and de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, but he declined the invitation for unspecified reasons. The crown prince's refusal to attend may have been a relief for some Liberals though, as Canada has frequently criticized the country's spotty human rights record. Carney is also already contending with growing strife over his decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sikh activists, organizations, community leaders, as well as some Liberal MPs, have been speaking out about Canada's decision to invite Modi in light of statements made by the RCMP that it has evidence showing India's government is involved in violent crimes in Canada. The senior Canadian government official said Thursday that transnational repression will be a 'specific focus' of discussions during the summit. National Post, with files from Stephanie Taylor cnardi@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Calgary Herald
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Chrétien offers advice to Carney on dealing with Trump as Canada prepares to host G7
OTTAWA — Three days before G7 leaders converge on Kananaskis, Alta., former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has some advice for Prime Minister Mark Carney for dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. Article content 'If he has decided to make a show, to be in the news, he will do something crazy. So let him do it. Keep talking normally,' Chrétien said of Trump to attendees of a pre-G7 conference organized by the University of Calgary on Thursday. Article content Article content Article content 'He tends to be a bully once in a while, and don't lose your cool when you have a bully in front of you… unless you grab him by the neck,' he added, earning laughs from the crowd for the reference to his famous 1996 'Shawinigan Handshake' with a protester's throat. Article content Article content Chrétien's advice to Carney comes as the Canadian government is avidly working to ensure that this G7 — scheduled from June 15 to 17 — doesn't end in the same disarray as the 2018 edition in Charlevoix, Que. Article content At the time, Trump and the U.S. had initially agreed to sign on to the final joint statement, only to pull out in spectacular fashion via a Tweet lobbed from Air Force One calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'dishonest and weak' over criticism of American tariffs. Article content During a background briefing for reporters Thursday, a senior government official highlighted that Canada had proposed a different route to its G7 partners, the U.S., France, the U.K., Japan, Italy and Germany. Article content Article content Instead of a single comprehensive joint statement agreed upon by all parties at the end of the meeting, sherpas — the top bureaucrats for each G7 country — and their teams are currently working on six smaller joint statements. Article content Article content The statements are expected to focus on similar topics as the leaders' meeting sessions: wildfires, critical minerals, immigration and migrant flows, foreign interference and transnational repression, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Article content Essentially, parties have agreed to separate the typical comprehensive joint statement into mini statements that can be released as countries agree on the content. The new format is meant to address fears that consensus may not be reached on specific topics, which risks kiboshing the entire communiqué. Article content 'The G7 is a group where consensus is essential. For us, it's important to find the subjects on which we can find consensus,' the government official explained. 'We want action, so that's the reason why we have statements on certain topics, like critical minerals.'
