New RCMP units to protect ministers, top bureaucrats from threats of political violence

The RCMP is preparing to offer close protection ser‐ vices to both senior federal ministers and public ser‐ vants in response to the rising threat of political vi‐ olence, sources say.

New RCMP units are ex‐ pected to offer protection to up to 10 ministers or high-lev‐ el bureaucrats at a time, ac‐ cording to information ob‐ tained by CBC News and Ra‐ dio-Canada.

These new protection units are to be assigned on a case-by-case basis to minis‐ ters or officials based on risk assessments conducted by the RCMP.

While ministers have been clamouring for more protec‐ tive services for years, the government's decision to in‐ clude senior bureaucrats among the people the RCMP protects points to a growing level of alarm in official Ot‐ tawa over the threat of politi‐ cal violence.

"The threat environment continues to evolve," said for‐ mer clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick.

"We saw during the pan‐ demic in Canada and in other countries that it is not just politicians but also officials that can be in harm's way. It makes sense to have the abili‐ ty to extend greater protec‐ tion for periods of time and to rely on the assessments by security and law enforcement professionals."

Permanent RCMP teams already protect the prime minister and the Governor General. A few cabinet minis‐ ters have received close pro‐ tection services in recent years, but only on a tempo‐ rary basis.

Sources tell CBC/RadioCanada the government's plan is to give the RCMP addi‐ tional funding to double the number of protection officers it employs. The matter has gone to cabinet and is cur‐ rently in front of the Treasury Board.

There are no plans to grant the same protective ser‐ vices to backbench MPs, op‐ position leaders or political aides — even though several of them also have been threatened in recent years.

The office of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not respond to a question about satisfaction with current secu‐ rity arrangements.

Radio-Canada and CBC News granted confiden‐ tiality to sources who were not authorized to speak pub‐ licly about security issues or matters before cabinet.

A growing number of threats

Several sources pointed to the growing number of threats made in person or on‐ line against people in govern‐ ment in recent years.

Many threats have come from opponents of re‐ strictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sources said other threats against politicians or bureau‐ crats have been related to policy issues such as gun con‐ trol or the development of natural resources — and even the controversy at Hockey Canada.

Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam and other bureaucrats associ‐ ated with Canada's pandemic response have received many threats of violence.

A number of cabinet minis‐ ters also have experienced ag‐ gressive encounters in recent years, both online and in per‐ son. Last August, a video showing a man hurling pro‐ fanity at Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and calling her a "traitor" during an event in Alberta triggered a debate about threats to politicians.

WATCH: Freeland reacts

to aggressive encounter in Alberta

Earlier this month, an On‐ tario man was sentenced to house arrest for throwing gravel at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an election campaign stop in 2021.

The sources said many threats against senior federal officials have never been pub‐ licized. They added that many ministers and government of‐ ficials feel the RCMP does not take certain specific threats seriously enough.

The RCMP, meanwhile, says it suffers from a shortage of protection officers and has had to prioritize existing secu‐ rity obligations.

A three-day retreat attend‐ ed by Trudeau and his cabi‐ net in Hamilton, Ont. in Janu‐ ary amplified the sense of vul‐ nerability among cabinet min‐ isters, sources said.

A small but vocal group of protesters set up outside the hotel hosting the retreat. Af‐ ter dinner with his ministers, Trudeau made his way back to his hotel through the crowd of protesters with the help of his protective detail. But a number of ministers lin‐ gered at the restaurant be‐ cause "the police did not know how to get us out of the situation," said a Liberal source.

WATCH: Trudeau reacts to being swarmed by pro‐ testers

"What struck me was the lack of planning," said the source.

Eventually, the group of ministers walked through the crowd of protesters with the help of the Hamilton police and at least one member of the RCMP. Some feared the situation would get out of hand, said the party source.

"They took the whole gang out of us together … It could have been catastrophic," said the source.

The sources said the expe‐ rience in Hamilton convinced cabinet of the need for ex‐ panded RCMP protective ser‐ vices.

Former RCMP deputy commissioner Pierre-Yves Bourduas said the threat of political violence is part of a "new normal" in Canada.

"The situation doesn't seem to be improving and in that context, the RCMP must make sure it has the re‐ sources in place to meet the new operational challenges," he said.

Richard Fadden, former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, pointed to a growing "disconnect be‐ tween some parts of the pop‐ ulation and government" as one driver for the rising num‐ ber of violent threats.

"You go back 25 years, there were a lot of very un‐ happy people. But the discon‐ nect … wasn't there and I don't think the ability to orga‐ nize quickly, to bring together protests ... was there," he said.

The House of Commons also has adopted measures to better protect MPs attending events in their constituencies.

At a meeting of the Board of Internal Economy in De‐ cember, the House launched a pilot project to pay security costs for events organized by MPs outside the parliamen‐ tary precinct.

The Sergeant at Arms of the House of Commons will conduct security assessments to determine whether such an event needs on-site securi‐ ty.

The office of government House leader Mark Holland told Radio-Canada/CBC that Parliament has introduced measures to protect individ‐ ual MPs when they're outside the parliamentary precinct, in‐ cluding security assessments and outreach to local police.

"For security reasons, de‐ tailed information about these programs is not shared publicly," said the office spokesperson.