Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the rise of antisemitism in Canada is “terrifying” after a 15-year-old was arrested late on Friday night in Ottawa and charged with terrorism-related offences.
The RCMP say it’s alleged the youth, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, intended to target the Jewish community and is suspected of having explosive materials.
“What we’re seeing, particularly right now with the rise of antisemitism linked to what’s happening overseas right now, is terrifying and it is something that we absolutely have to act on and we are acting on,” Trudeau said in a year-end interview with Global News Ottawa bureau chief Mercedes Stephenson.
“The arrest on the weekend was an extremely important moment where we’re demonstrating that we are doing everything we can to keep the Jewish community in this country safe and will continue to keep all communities safe in this country.”
Many Jewish Canadians have said they feel that safety is being compromised, with instances of protesters targeting Jewish-owned businesses, such as bookseller Indigo and at shopping centres, as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues.
“We will always, always defend [the freedom to protest]. The lines get approached and crossed when they are actually targeting individual Canadians who have no more responsibility for what’s going on overseas, then that they happen to be Jewish, for example. That’s unacceptable,” Trudeau said.
Stephenson’s full interview with Trudeau will air on The West Block on Dec. 24.
In Toronto’s Eaton Centre on Monday, police estimate 150 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the mall.
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A video circulating online appears to show a heated exchange, with pro-Palestinian protesters and Toronto police officers both visible in the footage.
The video appears to show a man with his face partly covered who tells someone he will “put you six feet deep” as part of a longer exchange in Toronto’s Eaton Centre.
The Toronto police union later posted on social media to explain that “threats were directed to a member of the public, not police” during the demonstration.
“The victim chose not to pursue the matter,” the Toronto Police Association said in a post.
A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service told Global News police were on the scene to “keep the peace” and that the group left the Eaton Centre “without incident.” Police said no arrests were made.
Police confirmed, after reviewing the video, that the demonstrator and another person “exchanged words,” while officers kept them apart.
When asked about protests like this, Trudeau said people who share the “legitimate aspirations for the Palestinian people” should “absolutely” be able to protest, but he says there’s a line.
“Specifically making other Canadians feel unsafe, whether it’s Jewish kids on campus, whether it’s families wanting to celebrate Christmas with their kids at a photo booth and made to feel guilty because of the horrific fact that there are kids dying overseas in Gaza, is something that people can be made aware of,” Trudeau said.
“But the aggressive and the underlying violence in making other people feel unsafe in this country isn’t part of free protesting, of freedom of speech or lawful protest.”
Stephenson then asked Trudeau if the police need to do something about this.
“I think the police need to make sure that they are arresting people who are engaged in acts of violence and who are breaking the law, whether it’s a sound ordinance or a trespassing. These are things that we do have to take seriously because they snowball,” Trudeau replied.
His comments come as Trudeau, now eight years into the role of prime minister, faces significant pressure on both domestic and international policy.
Two consecutive polls done by Ipsos exclusively for Global News show a sizeable majority of Canadians think it’s time for Trudeau to step down as Liberal leader and prime minister.
A recent poll found that 69 per cent of Canadians believe the prime minister should resign. The finding comes after earlier polling by Ipsos for Global News done between Nov. 14 and 17 suggested 72 per cent of Canadians felt the same, marking a three-point decrease in the sentiment but within the poll’s margin of error.
However, 63 per cent of respondents don’t believe it’s likely Trudeau will step down, and the prime minister told Stephenson he fully intends on leading the Liberals in the next election.
“Listen, there will be an election eventually in which people get to make that choice. But I am not giving up on them. I’m not giving up on Canada. I’m not giving up on the progressive vision of progress that we’ve been fighting for every single day over the past years,” Trudeau said.
The next election is not set to take place until fall 2025, assuming the Liberals’ confidence and supply agreement with the NDP holds for the remainder of the term.
In this agreement, the NDP says they will support the Liberals on confidence vote in exchange for advancing key priorities like dentalcare and pharmacare.
— with files from Global News’ Alex Boutilier, Isaac Callan and Mackenzie Gray.
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