Trudeau calls out "cowardly behaviour" after Chrystia Freeland threatened

Politicians across the country have voiced their support for Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland after she was threatened in Alberta.

The video surfaced over the weekend of Freeland getting into an elevator in Grande Prairie when a couple started swearing at her.

This is unacceptable treatment of the Deputy PM while visiting in her home province of Alberta.

This man & woman actually congratulate themselves in the parking lot, as though they are fighting for freedom.

How exactly is calling the DPM a F**ken B**ch fighting for freedom? pic.twitter.com/J0BONeTY6t

— Jaro Giesbrecht 🇨🇦🇸🇰 (@JaroGiesbrecht) August 27, 2022

Since then, reaction has been coming in from all over as politicians condemn this type of behaviour.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a very clear statement against the threatening nature of the video.

Threats, violence, and intimidation are always unacceptable. As leaders, we need to call it out. We need to take a united stance against it. And we need to work together to put an end to it. pic.twitter.com/8euL6YCzMp

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 28, 2022

“This kind of cowardly behaviour threatens and undermines our democracy,” Trudeau said to the media.

Meanwhile, the leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, notes this is part of an alarming trend.

The verbal assault of Deputy PM Freeland and her staff is alarming and wrong.

The growing number of incidents targeting women – journalists, politicians and their staff – are alarming.

I want my daughter – and all women – to know they belong everywhere. I know Canadians do too.

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) August 28, 2022

“The growing number of incidents targeting women — journalists, politicians, and their staff — are alarming,” he said in a tweet. “I want my daughter — and all women — to know they belong everywhere. I know Canadians do, too.”

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The incident happened in Alberta, the home province of Freeland. Jyoti Gondek is Calgary’s first woman mayor and listed a number of examples of this sort of thing also happening to her in a lengthy Twitter thread.

1/I have been asked by some people why I haven’t made a public statement about the assault on our Deputy Prime Minister. To be blunt, I had to sit with my thoughts for a couple of days. Because this incident is not isolated & it brings up too much pain. And fear. Yes, fear.

— Jyoti Gondek (@JyotiGondek) August 28, 2022

“This incident is not isolated and it brings up too much pain. And fear. Yes, fear,” she stated.

“During the 2017 civic election, I had a man call to tell me he knew where I lived and I should watch out. He then confronted me in person at a public debate. He was about 6’2”, 200 lbs,” she explained. “In an open area packed with people, he loomed over me to hiss that he had made that call and he would make sure I lost the election. He then sat in the front row leering at me for the whole event. I compartmentalized the fear, cleared my head, and crushed the debate.

“In January 2022, protestors came to my home to air their grievances over pandemic measures. Unbeknownst to me, they stood on my driveway until I opened the garage door when they scurried to the street. My mum was with me. We closed the door quickly and went back in.”

She ended the thread by stating, “Like all the other women speaking up, I’m not going to back down or give up. Fear doesn’t win. We have work to do. Let’s go.👊🏻”

For her part, Freeland also released a statement on social media saying this will not deter her from visiting Alberta again.

Chrystia Freeland statment/@cafreeland