NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confronted protesters outside Parliament on Tuesday after someone accused him of being a “corrupted bastard.”
Federal politicians have reported they’re facing intense public harassment lately and anti-government protesters stationed on Wellington Street in Ottawa have intimidated public servants on their way to Parliament.
A video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows at least two protesters tailing Singh in a parking lot. One asks him whether he would support a motion of non-confidence in the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As the NDP leader continues walking, someone within earshot calls him a “corrupted bastard.”
Visibly upset, Singh turns around to approach the protesters who followed him. Pointing at each of them, he repeatedly asks, “Who said it?”
After the men deny insulting him, Singh tells one of the men that he is a “coward” for not criticizing him “to his face.”
As Singh turns around, one of the protesters is heard saying, “With that aggression, is that why you’re choosing war with Russia?”
A spokesperson for the NDP said that protesters gathered outside Parliament have been “intimidating” and “harassing” politicians, their staff and others.
“Jagmeet Singh does not tolerate bullies and does not condone violence,” the spokesperson said in an email.
NDP MP Charlie Angus called the encounter between the protesters and Singh a “national disgrace” and said “a national leader was left by himself to defend himself when security just stood around and watched.”
“We’re dealing right now with an increasingly dangerous and toxic mix for politicians of all stripes,” Angus said. “Somebody is going to get hurt.”
Calls to tighten security
Alexandre Boulerice, NDP MP for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie in Montreal, said Tuesday that threatening behaviour has become a problem both on the Hill and at MP’s offices.
He cited an incident involving fellow NDP MP Leah Gazan. The MP for Winnipeg Centre said in an online post on Sept. 13 that someone had thrown bricks through the windows of her constituency office twice in the previous two weeks.
“We’re lucky that only glass was broken and no one was hurt,” Gazan wrote on Facebook.
In July, Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s constituency office was defaced and vandals painted the words, “Marc Miller, child killer,” on the building and sidewalk.
Since then, former public safety minister Marco Mendicino has called for the creation of “protective zones” around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from increasingly threatening behaviour.
Boulerice said he believes MPs and federal party leaders should have more security.
“Jagmeet is sadly insulted and sometimes and almost physically aggressed by some people,” Boulerice said. “I don’t want him to have to defend himself physically, you know, so I think he should have a guard with him.”
Singh has been targeted by a number of protesters in recent years. In 2022, he was the target of aggressive verbal harassment during an appearance in Peterborough, Ont.
The federal NDP leader had joined a rally at the campaign office of a provincial NDP candidate. Protesters approached Singh and shouted profanity in his face as he left the event.
Calls for security for members of Parliament have more than doubled since since 2018, according to Michele Paradis, the RCMP assistant commissioner in charge of protective policing.
The assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump has the RCMP re-evaluating its protection of elected officials. Michele Paradis, the RCMP assistant commissioner in charge of protective policing, told Power & Politics her division needs to grow in order to address a rising tide of threats and harassment targeting MPs.