Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has no intention of backing down to protestors, despite having to cancel a rally last week due to safety concerns.
Sunday’s event was delayed more than hour as the throng of people blocked the entrance to the local sheet metal business where Trudeau made the first big climate announcement of his re-election effort.
Speaking to reporters, Trudeau — sometimes barely audible over the sounds of protestors and police sirens — said he would continue publicly campaigning throughout the election and was “resolute” in his conviction to “move Canada forward.”
“I’m not going to back down on a message that Canadians know is the right path forward,” he said.
“Do we fall into division and hatred and racism and violence? Or do we say ‘no, you know what, that doesn’t work to get us to back down, that won’t scare Canadians from standing up for what’s right.’”
“We double down and we move forward into the future we know our kids and grandkids deserve,” he added.
The Liberal leader has been dogged by some violent protesters in recent weeks, often demanding “freedom!” from mask mandates and COVID-19 vaccine passports. On Sunday, Trudeau received death threats from the crowd that included a photo of him about to face hanging. A female officer was subjected to a misogynist insult and someone shouted racist slurs at a Black member of his security detail.
During the campaign stop, Trudeau vowed to regulate total emissions cuts in the oil and gas sector for the first time and promised to provide $2 billion in funds for workers and communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador. He also promised all new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2035 and vowed to update Canadians on oil and gas emission reductions with concrete milestones every five years from now until Canada reaches “net-zero” in 2050.
Earlier on Friday, angry crowds forced Trudeau to cancel a rally at an election campaign stop in Bolton, Ont., on Friday over unspecified safety concerns.
Leaders from both the Conservative and NDP parties have spoken out against the demonstrations.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said he “strongly” condemned the protestors during a campaign stop in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
“We’re a democracy, we should be having a healthy and respectful debate of ideas and we have no time for people who bring in negativity to campaigning,” he said.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the protests “wrong.”
“No one should have to cancel their events where we have students, we have young people, we have volunteers, we have organizers, no one should have to cancel an event because they’re worried about a danger to the safety of people coming out to a political event,” he said during a campaign stop in Sudbury, Ont.
“That should never have happened.”
More to come.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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