Publication date: August 27, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 3 minutes read • 60 comments Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (on stage) speaks after touring a hydrogen production facility operated by Air Products, an industrial gases company, before a media conference briefing in Sherwood Park on Thursday, August 25, 2022. Photo by Ian Kucerak/Postmedia

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Politicians, past and present, from all corners of the political spectrum took to social media to condemn the verbal harassment and bullying Deputy Premier Chrystia Freeland faced during her recent tour of Alberta.

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A video, posted on Twitter, shows a man and a woman waiting in the lobby of Grande Prairie City Hall as the minister enters and walks toward the elevator Friday. The man calls out her name and she says yes. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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The man is then heard saying “What 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 into the elevator. Freeland, who represents a downtown Toronto riding and was born in Peace River, said in a statement on Twitter that she will continue to come to Alberta because it is her home and that she wants to continue meeting Albertans from across the province. “What happened yesterday was wrong. No one, anywhere, should tolerate threats and intimidation,” the statement said.

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“I am grateful for the warm welcome I have received from so many people in Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Peace River over the past few days. An unpleasant incident yesterday does not change that.”

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Freeland recently spent time in Edmonton touring a hydrogen production facility on Thursday and meeting privately with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, according to her official itinerary. She had posted photos on social media Friday showing her meeting with Jackie Clayton, the mayor of Grande Prairie. Former Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt tweeted that she felt a knot in her stomach when she saw the video, worried the man would follow Freeland into the elevator, and former Liberal environment minister Catherine McKenna responded by saying she felt the same. McKenna, who had been given extra security for some events during her tenure, called on “all party leaders” to hold a joint press conference to condemn what she described as an “attack” on Freeland and pledge for increased security for elected officials.

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Cabinet ministers do not generally receive RCMP protection, but it can be arranged if circumstances warrant. Some politicians and experts took to social media after the incident to question whether the extra security should become more common. Michelle Rebel Garner, a former federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s government and current Conservative Member of Parliament from Calgary, also responded to Raitt, describing “the hot, sick feeling of being trapped … of not knowing where to run if it escalates, to be faced with someone hostile and physically bigger than you.” Many Liberal MPs have voiced their support for Freeland, including Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who tweeted that harassment, bullying and threatening behavior should be “condemned by all, regardless of political persuasion”.

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Prime Minister Jason Kenney responded on Twitter, saying the “verbal abuse and threats” directed at the minister were “reprehensible”. “If you disagree with a politician, by all means exercise your right to protest,” he tweeted. “But threatening, screaming language and physical intimidation cross the line.” The prime minister says that although 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! Like all Canadians.” The verbal harassment and threats against Minister @cafreeland during her visit to Alberta yesterday was reprehensible. If you disagree with a politician, by all means exercise your right to protest. But threatening, screaming language and physical intimidation cross the line. — Jason Kenney 🇺🇦 (@jkenney) August 27, 2022

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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,” she tweeted. “This is not the Grande Prairie I know and love. We can disagree without resorting to this kind of vile behavior.” It’s no secret Chrystia Freeland and I don’t see political confrontations, but what she experienced was frankly disgusting and completely unacceptable. This is not the Alberta I know and love. This is not the Grande Prairie I know and love. 1/2 — Travis Toews (@ToewsforAlberta) August 27, 2022

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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 bullying of Deputy Premier 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

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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 bullying she faced is completely unacceptable and is in no way representative of Albertans.” Deputy Prime Minister @cafreeland is a proud Albertan and dedicated public servant. I have seen her commitment to our province and our country first hand. The harassment and bullying she faced is completely unacceptable and in no way represents Albertans. — Amarjeet Sohi (@AmarjeetSohiYEG) August 27, 2022

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– with files from The Canadian Press

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