Canada PM Justin Trudeau wears bulletproof vest at campaign event after threat
- Police wearing backpacks surrounded Trudeau on stage for the first time since the start of a six-week election campaign
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau donned a bulletproof vest and appeared with a heavy security detail at a major election rally on Saturday.
Officials would not reveal the nature of the threat, but it resulted in a 90-minute delay before Trudeau appeared before about 2,000 supporters who had turned out as the election campaign ahead of the October 21 vote.
Trudeau wore a suit jacket rather than his usual rolled-up sleeves and loosened tie, and was wearing a vest, which was noticeable in photos taken at the event.
Trudeau was escorted through crowd by a large number of plain clothes Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers as well as Mounties dressed in green tactical gear and wearing backpacks.
RCMP spokeswoman Stephanie Dumoulin said they do not comment on security measures given to the prime minister. A spokeswoman Trudeau also declined to comment.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp cited unnamed sources inside Trudeau’s Liberal Party as saying he donned the bulletproof vest after the campaign received a threat.
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Trudeau addressed the rally without incident. His wife Sophie had been due to introduce him but did not do so.
“Very upsetting to hear that Justin Trudeau had to wear a bulletproof vest tonight at a campaign event,” opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer tweeted.
“Threats of violence against pollical leaders have absolutely no place in our democracy.”
Opposition NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was the first to tweet his concern.
“Any threat made against @JustinTrudeau, or any leader, is troubling to all of us,” he wrote.
“No matter how you vote or believe, no one should face threats of violence. To the officers who protect all of us - thank you.”
Trudeau, who often plunges into crowds to shake hands and pose for photos, did the same as he was leaving the event, but this time he was closely surrounded by security.
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Unlike the United States, where four presidents have been assassinated since 1865, there is almost no history of serious political violence in Canada.
The one exception came in 1970, when a radical group seeking independence for Quebec kidnapped the Canadian province’s deputy premier and later killed him.
Trudeau will go ahead with plans to campaign in the Ontario city of York north of Toronto on Sunday, said a Liberal official who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the situation.
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Polls show the Liberals are tied with the official opposition Conservatives of Scheer, who said that if he won on October 21, he would quickly move to end what he called government subsidies to rich corporations
Associated Press and Reuters
