People vandalizing election campaign signs threatened to stab volunteers installing the signs, says The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ).
On Monday the party said in a press release there were two separate incidents volunteers were allegedly threatened with a knife after asking vandalize to stop damaging campaign sings
Both of the incidents have been reported to have taken place in Montreal over the weekend with the first incident on Saturday night in the Montreal riding of Rosemont and the second happened in Sept-Iles Sunday afternoon.
A 49-year-old male was arrested in relation to the incident in Rosemont, said Gabriella Youakim, a spokesperson for the Montreal Police, told the Montreal Gazette. He was released the next day and is expected to be charged with an unspecified charge.
The PCQ said on Monday that authorities are seeking for the Sept-Iles suspect.
Duhaime said he was shocked but he is “relieved to know that both (volunteers) are doing well despite the circumstances. It is beyond me that things like this can still happen.”
Duhaime also said that “the supporters of all parties, without exception, have the right to be actively involved in politics, without having to fear for their safety.”
Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party Dominique Anglade responded to the incident by saying, “I encourage people to voice their concern, voice their opinion, but stay away from attacking anyone, of course.”
Francois Legault, the premier of Quebec, said that some of his campaign signs had also been vandalized and added, “I denounce that for all parties. It’s unacceptable and it’s against the law.”
The incident comes amid a national debate on abuse directed towards public officials, which gained traction after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had a man yell his opinions to her in an angry tone last week in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Progressive politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh were quick to virtue signal online and condemn Freeland’s experience on Twitter, but they did not comment on what happened to the Conservative volunteers.
