The RCMP say they expect more “stalking and harassment” threats to politicians during the upcoming election, according to a recent report.
The report from the RCMP Protective Behavioural Analysis Unit looks at the growing number of threats to the safety of public figures, measures law enforcement has taken, as well as the number of public figures who are asking for protection.
“Risk researchers indicate that the demographic including politicians, leaders, and Members of Parliament have increasingly become the target of stalking and harassment generally due to ‘their public profiles or political stance,’” the report said, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
With newly chosen Liberal Party Leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney expected to call an election soon, the report said “additional increases in threats” are expected.
The December 2024 report says “thousands of individuals” are intercepted every year after showing an “unusual interest in public officials or figures“ and that such behaviours ”evidence the need for systems/services to assess and manage risks.”
The RCMP Protective Behavioural Analysis Unit receives 45 to 67 threats per month connected with public figures, according to the report.
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The RCMP estimate threats against public officials increased from about 1,300 in 2022 to 2,600 in 2023 and expect the number to reach more than 3,500 in 2024.
The report said protests across Canada country have presented a challenge for law enforcement and a risk to officials.
Pro-Palestinian Protests Present Challenge
“Many interviewees and media accounts have noted that ‘flash protests’ present a significant challenge to law enforcement’s ability to provide sufficient protection for VIPs and/or protective policing,” the RCMP report said.
It noted that protests resulted in the cancellation of an event that then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Italian counterpart were to attend on March 2, 2024. The event was cancelled after a pro-Palestinian protest in Toronto. Several hundred demonstrators blocked the entrances to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where the event was to be held.
A few days later, a Liberal Party event at a Toronto restaurant was disrupted as protesters blocked the entrance. Then-deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and then-Mental Health Minister Ya’ara Saks reportedly cancelled their attendance due to the protest.
The RCMP listed other international incidents where VIPs were targeted, including U.S. President Donald Trump being shot while campaigning in 2024, and the 2024 shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in 2024 as he left a government meeting.
The report also noted that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while attending a campaign event in 2022.
The RCMP also included a 2020 incident in which a truck was driven through the gates of Rideau Hall, Trudeau’s residence at the time.
“Threat volume, as well as changes in laws and restraining orders, require a new approach and tools with a focus on prevention to identify and address threats and behaviours before an incident can occur,” the report authors wrote.
