Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, June 20, 2024, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The RCMP will do what is necessary to protect politicians in Canada after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday.
Speaking in Grande-Digue, N.B., Mr. LeBlanc said he spoke to the commissioner of the RCMP, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and officials from his department following Saturday’s shooting and they assured him they are exercising increased vigilance and are in contact with their U.S. partners.
“I have every confidence that the RCMP will take all the steps necessary to protect Canadian politicians,” Mr. LeBlanc said.
He said CSIS collects information that helps the RCMP adjust security where necessary, though he said the government would not discuss details of particular measures.
Mr. LeBlanc also said he connected with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to ensure the national police force had been in touch with the Opposition Leader’s office.
“All of the appropriate steps will be in place to ensure that people can participate in a democracy in a safe way,” Mr. LeBlanc said.
“If you want to change the government, you participate in an election. You go to vote. You don’t engage in acts of political violence. That’s what is so disturbing about what we saw with former president Trump.”
Mr. LeBlanc said he was in Washington last week and met with the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and they discussed the increased risk of violence in political campaigns and against leaders.
U.S. authorities are investigating an assassination attempt of Mr. Trump that also killed a spectator and critically injured two others. The FBI has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Mr. Poilievre told the radio station News Talk 1010 on Monday that he worries about his family’s safety, and they are subject to threats, implied threats and “vitriol.”
He said they have access to security through the RCMP and the House of Commons.
As for threats, Mr. Poilievre said there are “whack jobs” out there who could do something but they “take all the precautions possible.”
“I have to talk to people,” he said. “I’m not going to stop doing that.”
In Toronto, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday he wants to stop the increasing climate of polarization and extremism.
Mr. Singh said there must be vigorous debate in politics, but this cannot create a climate where people are afraid and where there is violence and harassment. He noted that he’s been in situations where he is concerned about the safety of the people around him.
“I’ve been worried about what might happen,” he said. “I trust the good work of the security professionals that we have, the RCMP do great work.”
P. Y. Bourduas, a former RCMP deputy commissioner, said Monday in an interview that security services in Canada will no doubt assess the attempted assassination for lessons to help protect political figures in this country.
“I expect they are also in contact with the Secret Service to find out the finite detail,” he said. “Here in Canada, there are people who are polarized, and therefore they need to adapt.”
Mr. Bourduas, who was a Mountie for 33 years and is now the president of a safety-management firm in Ottawa, said Saturday’s attack on Mr. Trump is “stark reminder” of what could happen in Canada. There are many elected officials here who have been targeted by disgruntled voters, he added.
At the end of May, Patrick McDonnell, the Sergeant-at-Arms, told a parliamentary committee that threats directed at members of Parliament had skyrocketed in the past five years.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Mr. Trudeau spoke with Mr. Trump on Sunday afternoon. A readout about the call said the Prime Minister wished the former president well and offered condolences to the shooting victims and the family of the man who died.
Mr. Trudeau said Saturday evening on X he was “sickened” by the shooting and it cannot be overstated that political violence is “never acceptable.”