Large, angry protests target Trudeau government cabinet retreat
Story by Tristin Hopper •
Hamilton has become the scene of large, chaotic demonstrations in recent days as protesters convened to target a retreat by the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Protestors yell at the door of a hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is staying during the Liberal Cabinet retreat, in downtown Hamilton, Ont., on January 24, 2023.
© Provided by National Post
From Monday to Wednesday, the 39-member cabinet gathered in the Ontario city in advance of the resumption of parliamentary sittings next week.
The ministers were met Monday by a “ slow roll ” of about 100 cars honking horns and flying flags on the street in front of the Sheraton Hotel hosting the retreat. A large crowd also flanked both sides of the street outside a Royal Canadian Legion in nearby Stoney Creek, where Trudeau had been rumoured to be planning an appearance.
And on Tuesday night, a crowd of several dozen carrying flags and air horns pressed against the windows of the Earth to Table Bread Bar, a downtown restaurant where cabinet members were inside eating dinner.
After the meal, RCMP security and Hamilton police formed a tight cordon around the prime minister as he walked into the crush of protesters and back towards the Sheraton Hotel.
A video of the chaos posted to social media by reporter Harrison Faulkner has now been viewed more than 1.2 million times. Trudeau can be seen smiling and waving as he’s barraged by obscenities and cries of “traitor.”
From Monday to Wednesday, the 39-member cabinet gathered in the Ontario city in advance of the resumption of parliamentary sittings next week.
The ministers were met Monday by a “ slow roll ” of about 100 cars honking horns and flying flags on the street in front of the Sheraton Hotel hosting the retreat. A large crowd also flanked both sides of the street outside a Royal Canadian Legion in nearby Stoney Creek, where Trudeau had been rumoured to be planning an appearance.
And on Tuesday night, a crowd of several dozen carrying flags and air horns pressed against the windows of the Earth to Table Bread Bar, a downtown restaurant where cabinet members were inside eating dinner.
After the meal, RCMP security and Hamilton police formed a tight cordon around the prime minister as he walked into the crush of protesters and back towards the Sheraton Hotel.
A video of the chaos posted to social media by reporter Harrison Faulkner has now been viewed more than 1.2 million times. Trudeau can be seen smiling and waving as he’s barraged by obscenities and cries of “traitor.”
Related video: Canada’s Cabinet Swarmed by Protesters Calling On Justin Trudeau To Resign (Newsweek) Duration 0:58 View on Watch
Moving the prime minister out of the building had required a bit of sleight-of-hand on the part of security. Officers had moved the prime minister’s official motorcade to the restaurant’s back door to divert the main body of the protest crowd — and then slipped Trudeau out the front door on foot.
“We’re not going to let a handful of angry people interfere with the democratic process,” was Trudeau’s reaction at a Wednesday press event.
The demonstrators mainly identified as standard-bearers for the Freedom Convoy, the protest that began last year as a reaction to federal COVID-19 mandates, but has now morphed into an all-purpose anti-Trudeau political movement.
Tuesday night’s crowd could mostly be seen flying Canadian flags, although there was liberal collection of “F—k Trudeau” banners and the occasional U.S. flag. The centrepiece of the demonstration was a large inflatable sheep bearing a sign reading “99.8 per cent survival rate” — a reference to the infection fatality rate for COVID-19 (the figure is about accurate, although it varies wildly by age group ). On both Monday and Tuesday, there were incidents of fireworks bouncing off the windows of buildings containing the prime minister.
Incidentally, Sunday marked the first anniversary of the Freedom Convoy’s initial arrival into downtown Ottawa, where the group formed an intransigent blockade of the city’s core that would not be evicted until after Trudeau’s government has invoked the Emergencies Act.
Protestors yell at the door of a hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is staying during the Liberal Cabinet retreat, in downtown Hamilton, Ont., on January 24, 2023.
© Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
By raw poll numbers, Trudeau’s popularity is at its lowest in Western Canada. But it’s in Ontario where the prime minister has encountered the most volcanic displays of public anger.
During the 2021 election campaign, Trudeau was pelted with gravel at a campaign stop in London, Ont. Last summer, he had to cancel an appearance at an Ottawa-area microbrewery after RCMP deemed that the venue was too choked with protesters .
While Trudeau often appeared at townhalls and other public events in the early years of his government, since 2021 his appearances have mostly been limited to controlled venues, ostensibly for security reasons.
By raw poll numbers, Trudeau’s popularity is at its lowest in Western Canada. But it’s in Ontario where the prime minister has encountered the most volcanic displays of public anger.
During the 2021 election campaign, Trudeau was pelted with gravel at a campaign stop in London, Ont. Last summer, he had to cancel an appearance at an Ottawa-area microbrewery after RCMP deemed that the venue was too choked with protesters .
While Trudeau often appeared at townhalls and other public events in the early years of his government, since 2021 his appearances have mostly been limited to controlled venues, ostensibly for security reasons.
‘Angry’ protests must stay peaceful amid ‘tough times,’ Trudeau says
Story by Rachel Gilmore • Global News
Canadians are going through "tough times," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday — but "angry" protests, he added, should remain peaceful despite those difficulties.
A protestor walks past a police line in downtown Hamilton, Ont., where the Liberal Cabinet retreat is taking place, on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
He made the comment after footage emerged on social media of the prime minister being swarmed by a small but vocal group of demonstrators in Hamilton, Ont., on Tuesday night, where the Liberal cabinet retreat is taking place.
Security guards and police pushed away the demonstrators as they hurled insults at Trudeau, calling him a "tyrant," demanding his resignation, and shouting profanities.
The cause they were protesting was not made immediately clear in the footage.
"It's really, really important in our democracy that people can express their disagreement or displeasure or even anger with various governments. That's really important," Trudeau said when asked about the incident on Wednesday morning.
"At the same time, our police services and institutions will ensure that those protests remain peaceful and law-abiding. That's something that really matters."
Canada will "always ensure" people are "free to express" their perspectives, Trudeau added.
"A handful of angry people do not define what Hamilton is or what democracy is," he said.
Harassment and threats against public figures have become a growing problem across Canada.
Liberal cabinet retreat: Cost of living at forefront of discussions Duration 2:15 View on Watch
Newsweek Canada’s Cabinet Swarmed by Protesters Calling On Justin Trudeau To Resign
0:58
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino warned over the summer that the growing frequency of harassment against Canadian public figures poses a "threat to democracy" that needs to be taken seriously.
In late August, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was cornered outside an elevator in Grande Prairie, Alta., as a man hurled profanities at her while voicing his opposition to COVID-19 health measures.
In June, Mendicino revealed that Canadian members of Parliament will be getting panic buttons amid a rise in death threats, intimidation and verbal harassment.
When asked whether the increased threats and anger at protests have led Trudeau to step back from open public appearances, the prime minister said that is not the case.
"On the contrary, I'm continuing to be out there to meet with Canadians, to talk with them about their concerns. And I will continue to do that," he said.
"Staying connected, particularly after the tough years of the pandemic, where we all had to change the way we were doing things, remains really important."
Video: Final day of Liberal cabinet retreat
Canadians, Trudeau said, "are facing tough times right now."
The country has been grappling with the soaring cost-of-living as an economic downtown has caused skyrocketing inflation rates. Grocery prices have also soared, and multiple industries have been hit by layoffs.
In a year-end interview with Global News last month, Trudeau had warned Canadians that 2023 will be a difficult year as economic challenges brew.
“Global recession fears, slowing down in the global economy, interest rates continuing to be high, inflation still lingering — it’s going to be tough," he said.
Randy Boissonault, associate minister of finance, had also said on Tuesday at the cabinet retreat that the year ahead is looking "turbulent.
That came the day after a joint report from the Business Council of Canada and Bennett Jones warned that the fiscal forecast laid out in the last federal budget and the fall economic statement was likely too rosy.
The report, written by former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge and former Liberal finance policy adviser Robert Asselin, said the government’s forecast was based on a “plausible but optimistic” set of economic and interest-rate assumptions that are unlikely to come true.
They warn that there is a “high likelihood of a more severe recession” this year, and that the Liberal promises on everything from health-care funding and enhanced national defence spending to infrastructure improvements and climate change are going to cost a lot more than was projected.
“There’s lots of uncertainty,” Boissonnault said.
Despite these difficulties, Trudeau said, "most Canadians roll up their sleeves and say, 'You know what? This is tough, but we're going to be there for each other.'"
"We're going to see each other through this, and we're going to build a better future."
Trudeau is wrapping up his three-day cabinet retreat ahead of Parliament’s return. The retreat, his office said, had a focus on the cost of living and the economy.
— with files from The Canadian Press
Story by Rachel Gilmore • Global News
Canadians are going through "tough times," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday — but "angry" protests, he added, should remain peaceful despite those difficulties.
A protestor walks past a police line in downtown Hamilton, Ont., where the Liberal Cabinet retreat is taking place, on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
He made the comment after footage emerged on social media of the prime minister being swarmed by a small but vocal group of demonstrators in Hamilton, Ont., on Tuesday night, where the Liberal cabinet retreat is taking place.
Security guards and police pushed away the demonstrators as they hurled insults at Trudeau, calling him a "tyrant," demanding his resignation, and shouting profanities.
The cause they were protesting was not made immediately clear in the footage.
"It's really, really important in our democracy that people can express their disagreement or displeasure or even anger with various governments. That's really important," Trudeau said when asked about the incident on Wednesday morning.
"At the same time, our police services and institutions will ensure that those protests remain peaceful and law-abiding. That's something that really matters."
Canada will "always ensure" people are "free to express" their perspectives, Trudeau added.
"A handful of angry people do not define what Hamilton is or what democracy is," he said.
Harassment and threats against public figures have become a growing problem across Canada.
Liberal cabinet retreat: Cost of living at forefront of discussions Duration 2:15 View on Watch
Newsweek Canada’s Cabinet Swarmed by Protesters Calling On Justin Trudeau To Resign
0:58
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino warned over the summer that the growing frequency of harassment against Canadian public figures poses a "threat to democracy" that needs to be taken seriously.
In late August, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was cornered outside an elevator in Grande Prairie, Alta., as a man hurled profanities at her while voicing his opposition to COVID-19 health measures.
In June, Mendicino revealed that Canadian members of Parliament will be getting panic buttons amid a rise in death threats, intimidation and verbal harassment.
When asked whether the increased threats and anger at protests have led Trudeau to step back from open public appearances, the prime minister said that is not the case.
"On the contrary, I'm continuing to be out there to meet with Canadians, to talk with them about their concerns. And I will continue to do that," he said.
"Staying connected, particularly after the tough years of the pandemic, where we all had to change the way we were doing things, remains really important."
Video: Final day of Liberal cabinet retreat
Canadians, Trudeau said, "are facing tough times right now."
The country has been grappling with the soaring cost-of-living as an economic downtown has caused skyrocketing inflation rates. Grocery prices have also soared, and multiple industries have been hit by layoffs.
In a year-end interview with Global News last month, Trudeau had warned Canadians that 2023 will be a difficult year as economic challenges brew.
“Global recession fears, slowing down in the global economy, interest rates continuing to be high, inflation still lingering — it’s going to be tough," he said.
Randy Boissonault, associate minister of finance, had also said on Tuesday at the cabinet retreat that the year ahead is looking "turbulent.
That came the day after a joint report from the Business Council of Canada and Bennett Jones warned that the fiscal forecast laid out in the last federal budget and the fall economic statement was likely too rosy.
The report, written by former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge and former Liberal finance policy adviser Robert Asselin, said the government’s forecast was based on a “plausible but optimistic” set of economic and interest-rate assumptions that are unlikely to come true.
They warn that there is a “high likelihood of a more severe recession” this year, and that the Liberal promises on everything from health-care funding and enhanced national defence spending to infrastructure improvements and climate change are going to cost a lot more than was projected.
“There’s lots of uncertainty,” Boissonnault said.
Despite these difficulties, Trudeau said, "most Canadians roll up their sleeves and say, 'You know what? This is tough, but we're going to be there for each other.'"
"We're going to see each other through this, and we're going to build a better future."
Trudeau is wrapping up his three-day cabinet retreat ahead of Parliament’s return. The retreat, his office said, had a focus on the cost of living and the economy.
— with files from The Canadian Press
