Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pelted with stones by anti-vax protesters

The Canadian PM is usually a hit in his country – but the leader’s push to mandate vaccination has seen him hit by violent protests.

Justin Trudeau pelted with rocks. Picture: Twitter

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to face angry protesters on the election trail – with some even getting violent with the leader.

With less than two weeks to go before the snap Canadian election, Mr Trudeau is slipping in the polls and his tour stops continue to be marred by angry protesters.

When he called the September 20 elections a few weeks ago, the 49-year-old Liberal Party leader was in a far better position.

At that point, Trudeau was ahead of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in opinion surveys and hoped to ride his handling of the coronavirus pandemic to a third term.

But since that August 15 announcement, his campaign has stagnated and his hopes of returning at the head of a majority government seem difficult to fulfil.

Mr Trudeau was the victim of an “absolutely unacceptable” act on Monday, local time, after he left an event in London, a city southwest of Toronto in the Ontario province.

A crowd of furious protesters, who oppose the proposed mandatory coronavirus vaccine and other crisis measures, screamed as Mr Trudeau attempted to board his bus.

Anti-vaccine protesters throw gravel at Justin Trudeau during campaign stop https://t.co/DSnTMy2PKLpic.twitter.com/F0n0QydPMC

— New York Post (@nypost) September 8, 2021

Protesters opposing Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions chanted “Lock him up” and “No more lockdown” at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a campaign event in Ontario on Monday, and at least one demonstrator threw gravel. Trudeau was not hurt in the incident. pic.twitter.com/Dvl42IM49m

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 8, 2021

As his security team ushered him onto the bus, someone threw what appeared to be a handful of gravel at him and the surrounding media.

While no one was injured, Mr Trudeau blasted the move.

“Yes, I felt some of that gravel,” Mr Trudeau said yesterday.

Some protesters “were practically foaming at the mouth, they were so mad at me,” he added.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that people (would) be throwing things and endangering others at a political rally.”

The incident — which comes during a crucial campaign week with two scheduled debates that could tip the election scales — drew condemnation from Mr Trudeau’s rivals, Mr O’Toole and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh.

“Political violence is never justified,” Mr O’Toole tweeted.

Mr Singh said it was “never OK to try and intimidate people who don’t agree with you”.

This is disgusting and I condemn these actions in the strongest terms possible. Political violence is never justified and our media must be free from intimidation, harassment, and violence. https://t.co/xF3TaWXSvI

— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) September 6, 2021

It is not acceptable to throw objects at anyone. Ever.

No matter how angry you are.

And, it’s never ok to try to intimidate people who don’t agree with you - or the media.

Enough.

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) September 7, 2021

Mr Trudeau is now in a statistical dead heat with Mr O’Toole, with 34 per cent support for the Liberals and 32 per cent for the Tories, according to a Nanos Poll — a difference that is within the poll’s margin of error.

The PM has faced off on several recent occasions with what he described as “anti-vaxxer mobs” and “a small fringe element in this country that is angry, that doesn’t believe in science.”

In late August, Mr Trudeau was forced to cancel an event over security concerns.

Justin Trudeau is at risk of losing the leadership. Picture: Dave Chan/AFP

So far, Mr Trudeau has pledged not to allow so-called “fringe” groups “to dictate how this country gets through this pandemic.”

And Felix Mathieu, a politics professor at the University of Winnipeg, said the angry protests and Mr Trudeau’s pushback might actually benefit the Liberals, who stumbled in the early days of the campaign.

Although Mr O’Toole has promoted the use of vaccines, “his party remains widely associated with those who vehemently oppose vaccines and Covid containment measures,” Prof Mathieu told AFP.

That allows Mr Trudeau to present himself as a defender of public safety, especially as he steps up criticisms of the Tories’ rejection of mandatory vaccines, Mr Mathieu explained.

More than 83 per cent of those Canadians eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine (12 years or older) have received one dose and 76 per cent are fully vaccinated, according to government data.

The Liberal party proposes mandatory jabs for public servants and travellers on trains, planes and buses.

— with AFP