Protesters hurl expletives at Singh
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was verbally harassed on Wednesday at a campaign event in Peterborough, Ont.
Singh was in the city to show support for Jen Deck, NDP candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha, in the provincial election slated for June 2.
According to KawarthaNow, Singh said that “it’s a great honour to be here” and asked the crowd to give a round of applause to Deck. “Jen is an education worker, and education workers are so fundamental to building a good society.”
Having been warmly welcomed by her supporters,
Singh also faced a crowd of protesters yelling obscenities at him.
On social media videos, they can be heard saying “You’re a traitor” and “You’re a piece of s--t,” while others tell him to go “f--k himself” as he was leaving Deck’s storefront space to a waiting SUV. Some held up their middle finger to him.
What precisely the crowd was protesting wasn’t entirely clear, though the word “freedom” can be heard.
Singh said politicians who stoke divisiveness are partly at fault for such vocal protests, but didn’t name names.
“There is a responsibility that politicians play who purposely flame these divisions or purposefully spread misinformation,” Singh added.
Some on social media believed the crowd was there for racist reasons, others that the anger was purely over political concerns. Many tweeted to say that the actions of a few do not represent their city.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath tweeted her support for the party’s federal leader, saying she had often seen her friend “meet hate with grace” as many noted he did on Wednesday.
At a news conference in Ottawa later on Wednesday, Singh said the small group of protesters had said “some really horrible things” and wants people to be able to disagree without it reaching the level it did in Peterborough.
“Some folks were saying, ‘I hope you die,’ and things along with that nature. A lot of aggression and violence in terms of behaviour and demeanour.
“We should be able to disagree. We can disagree vehemently about a policy, about a decision, about the impacts of that decision on one’s family or community, those are important things. But when it gets to this level, it doesn’t help in making better decisions (and) it doesn’t help our communities feel safer.”
While he has seen this type of aggressive behaviour growing in the Canadian political picture, he said the verbal abuse in Peterborough “would rank among the worst experiences.”
Peterborough Police said in a Wednesday tweet that they weren’t aware the NDP leader was in the area. However, supporters and protesters both had posted social media notices about the event in the days leading up to his appearance.