Politicians of all stripes condemn harassment of deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie #GrandePrairie
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“This incident will discourage good people, namely women, from entering public office”
Publishing date:
Aug 27, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 3 minute read • 19 Comments 
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (at podium) speaks after touring a hydrogen production facility operated by Air Products, an industrial gases company, before a media conference in Sherwood Park, on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. Photo by Ian Kucerak /Postmedia Article content
Politicians, past and present, from all corners of the political spectrum, took to social media to condemn the verbal harassment and intimidation Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland faced during her recent tour of Alberta.
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A video, posted on Twitter, shows a man and woman waiting in the lobby of Grande Prairie City Hall as the minister enters and walks toward the elevator on Friday. The man yells her name and she responds “yes.”
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The man is then heard saying “What the f— are you doing in Alberta,” while calling her a “traitorous bitch” and telling her to “get the f— out of this province.”
The video ends with the woman saying “you don’t belong here,” as they follow Freeland to the elevator.
Freeland, who represents a riding in downtown Toronto and was born in Peace River, said in a statement on Twitter that she will continue to come to Alberta because it is home and that she wants to continue to meet with Albertans from across the province.
“What happened yesterday was wrong. Nobody, anywhere, should have to put up with threats and intimidation,” read the statement.
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“I am grateful for the warm welcome I’ve received from so many people in Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Peace River over the past few days. One unpleasant incident yesterday doesn’t change that.”
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Freeland most recently spent time in Edmonton touring a hydrogen production facility on Thrusday and met privately with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi according to her official itinerary.
She had posted photos on social media Friday showing her meeting Jackie Clayton, the mayor of Grande Prairie.
Former deputy Conservative leader Lisa Raitt posted on Twitter saying she felt a knot in her stomach when she watched the video, worried that the man would follow Freeland into the elevator, and former Liberal environment minister Catherine McKenna replied saying she felt the same way.
McKenna, who had received additional security for certain events during her time in office, called on “all party leaders” to hold a joint press conference to condemn what she described as an “attack” on Freeland and commit to enhanced security for elected officials.
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Cabinet ministers do not generally receive protection from RCMP, but it can be arranged if circumstances warrant. A number of politicians and pundits took to social media after the incident to question whether additional security should become more common.
Michelle Rempel Garner, a former federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s government and a current Conservative Member of Parliament from Calgary, also replied to Raitt, describing “the hot, sick feeling of being trapped … of not knowing where to run if it escalates, of being confronted by someone hostile and physically larger than you.”
Many Liberal MPs have voiced support for Freeland, including Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who tweeted that harassment, intimidation and threatening behaviour must be “condemned by everyone, regardless of political affiliation.”
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Premier Jason Kenney responded on Twitter, saying the “verbal harassment and threats” directed at the minister were “reprehensible.”
“If you disagree with a politician, by all means, exercise your right to protest,” he said in the tweet. “But screaming threatening language and physical intimidation cross the line.”
The premier says that though their governments have many serious disagreements, Freeland is “more than welcome to come and visit us here in the province where you grew up and your family lives! As are all Canadians.”
The verbal harassment and threats directed at Minister @cafreeland during her visit to Alberta yesterday were reprehensible.
If you disagree with a politician, by all means exercise your right to protest. But screaming threatening language & physical intimidation cross the line.
— Jason Kenney 🇺🇦 (@jkenney) August 27, 2022 Advertisement 7
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UCP leadership hopeful Travis Toews called the incident “frankly disgusting and completely unacceptable.”
“This is not the Alberta I know and love,” he posted on Twitter. “This isn’t the Grande Prairie I know and love. We can disagree without resorting to this kind of vile behaviour.”
It’s no secret Chrystia Freeland and I do not see eye-to-eye politically, but what she experienced was frankly disgusting and completely unacceptable. This is not the Alberta I know and love. This isn’t the Grande Prairie I know and love. 1/2
— Travis Toews (@ToewsforAlberta) August 27, 2022 Advertisement 8
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Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley also spoke out against the incident calling it “disgusting and unacceptable” in a tweet.
“This incident will discourage good people, namely women, from entering public office.”
The harassment and intimidation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and her staff yesterday in Alberta was disgusting and unacceptable.
This incident will discourage good people, namely women, from entering public office. #ableg #yyc #yeg
— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) August 27, 2022 Advertisement 9
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Sohi called Freeland a “proud Albertan and dedicated public servant” in a tweet.
“I have seen her commitment to our province and our country first hand. The harassment and intimidation she has faced is completely unacceptable, and is in no way representative of Albertans.”
Deputy Prime Minister @cafreeland is a proud Albertan and a dedicated public servant. I have seen her commitment to our province and our country firsthand. The harassment and intimidation she has faced is completely unacceptable, and is in no way representative of Albertans.
— Amarjeet Sohi (@AmarjeetSohiYEG) August 27, 2022 Advertisement 10
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– with files from The Canadian Press
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