Trudeau speaks out after threat at rally

TORONTO • Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau called out his political opponents for widening divisions and ramping up the rhetoric after he was forced by a security threat to wear a bulletproof vest while campaigning over the Thanksgiving weekend.

“We have seen an increase in polarization in election campaigns around the world,” Trudeau said in Toronto Sunday, the day after an unspecified security threat during a rally in the nearby city of Mississauga resulted in him wearing body armour and a highly visible RCMP presence.

He said he was not blaming the Conservatives, but he did not hold back his criticism when asked how the Tories have adopted a decidedly sharper tone in recent days on the campaign trail.

“Increased politics of fear and negativity and now, as we have seen from the Conservative party, flat-out lies,” Trudeau said.

That has included telling Canadians the Liberals want to legalize all drugs, when they have said they have no plans to do so, and insisting a re-elected Liberal government would impose a tax on home sales, which they have denied.

“We are seeing unfortunately an extremely high level of misinformation, of disinformation online,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau would not comment specifically on the nature of the threat. He said the campaign followed RCMP advice Saturday night, when a crowd of roughly 2,000 waited at a rally that was delayed by about 90 minutes.

“My first concern was for the safety of my family and for all the Canadians in the room,” said Trudeau, whose wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, had been expected to deliver remarks.

Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and their children, Xavier, Ella-grace and Hadrien, returned to the campaign Monday, accompanying Trudeau on a visit to a family restaurant in Tilbury, a community in Chatham-kent, Ont.

At a later stop in London, the youngest Trudeau stayed on the bus because he was overwhelmed by the crowd, his father said.

Trudeau, who is known to walk through the crowds to shake hands and pose for photos with supporters, said the threat would not change how he campaigns. He did not appear to be wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his shirt.

In a statement, Simon Jefferies, a spokesman for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, said: “No matter what you believe or how you vote, it is completely unacceptable to threaten anyone with violence,” he said in a statement.

On the campaign trail in Burnaby, B.C., NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said it is “wrong” Trudeau is facing threats requiring increased security. “I want to let Canadians know you can have all sorts of opinions and it’s OK to disagree, but there should never be fear for any leader from any party to feel like there’s any threat to themselves,” said Singh.