Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has spoken with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) following the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“They reviewed all the threats. They told me about the increased vigilance they have put in place since the assassination attempt,” he said.
Minister LeBlanc said the government would not talk about specific security measures.
“But I am confident that the RCMP will do what is necessary to protect Canada’s elected leaders,” he added.
Mr. LeBlanc also said he exchanged text messages with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday to assure him that measures were in place.
The minister answered questions from New Brunswick journalists Monday morning, as the shadow of violence in the United States weighs heavily on the Canadian political scene.
New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said elected officials should refrain from inflaming the debate to the point of harassment or violence.
“I’m concerned about the increase in this phenomenon in the political forum in general. I’m concerned about this polarization,” he said in Toronto on Monday.
“We must be critical of our political opponents, we must highlight how their policies would have a negative effect on people’s lives. This is important, we must not hesitate,” he added at first, before going further. “But there is a difference between criticizing the decisions and policies of our opponents and saying that our political opponents are our enemies. Violence has no place in our debates. This difference is important, it is the red line.” [à ne pas franchir]. »
Singh said elected officials also have a responsibility to steer clear of groups that promote violence or hold extremist views.
A shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday left one person dead and two others seriously injured. The shooter was killed by Secret Service personnel.
After the shooting, Donald Trump said he was fine. He was in Milwaukee on Monday for the Republican National Convention.
Canadian politicians condemned the act of violence and called for unity.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday that Justin Trudeau spoke with the former president, reiterating that there was no place for political violence and expressing his condolences to the victims.
President Joe Biden said Sunday he had ordered an independent security review of the events leading up to the attack on his political rival.
On Monday, Mr. LeBlanc acknowledged that there had been threats of violence against Canadian politicians, but he would not provide details on how many there were, to whom they were directed or where they came from.
“It can actually encourage other people to behave and do things that are clearly unacceptable in a democracy,” he explained.
Mr. LeBlanc said Ottawa has provided additional funding to the RCMP over the past two years to ensure it has “all the tools and personnel it needs.”
He added that ensuring the safety of politicians is also important when it comes to attracting people to public life.
“If you see discussions about threats of violence, about bullying, about attacks on social media, it’s going to be harder to get good people to come forward and serve their communities.”