Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement that the safety of her team and constituents is ‘paramount.’Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she has temporarily closed her constituency office in Oakville, Ont., after a number of incidents left staff feeling unsafe.
Ms. Anand did not specify the nature of the incidents, but said that she is working with security services to resolve the issue.
“This decision was not taken lightly, as the work of my constituency team is important for the residents [of] Oakville East. However, the safety of my team and constituents visiting the office is paramount,” Ms. Anand said in a statement provided to The Globe and Mail on Friday.
The Oakville Beaver reported that Ms. Anand’s constituency office manager, Elizabeth Chalmers, said the decision to close the office was primarily the result of pro-Palestinian protests outside the office.
Oakville for Palestine, a local advocacy group, has often posted photos and videos of its protests outside Ms. Anand’s constituency office to social media.
In a statement to The Globe, Oakville for Palestine organizer Dalia Marwan said the group was disappointed in Ms. Anand’s decision to close the office “and frame it as a necessary response to peaceful protesters.”
Ms. Marwan said Ms. Anand’s office “has not been a place of welcome or accountability” for members of the community with direct ties to the war in Gaza.
“They have been met with locked doors, countless unanswered emails and phone calls, and silence,” Ms. Marwan said.
Ms. Anand’s office did not respond to additional questions Friday from The Globe about the group’s statement.
Constable Jeff Dillon, media relations officer for Halton Regional Police, said officers attended a protest outside Ms. Anand’s constituency office last weekend.
“To my knowledge, it was peaceful. There were no arrests, anything of that nature,” said Cst. Dillon.
On Friday, the sign for the constituency office had been removed from the building’s façade. A paper printout was posted to the door telling constituents that the office is operating remotely. Ms. Anand said that her team “continues to respond to phone messages and e-mails to serve the people of Oakville East, and is holding off-site meetings with constituents.”
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The decision to temporarily close the office follows other incidents involving alleged threats against politicians.
Last month, a 29-year-old man was charged with uttering threats against the mayor of Brampton, Ont., Patrick Brown.
The same week, another individual was arrested and charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death against Ontario Environment Minister Todd McCarthy.
Pam Damoff, Liberal MP for Oakville North-Burlington, listed “threats and misogyny” as reasons she decided not to seek re-election last year.
Other Canadian politicians who have faced threats in recent years include former MP Catherine McKenna. In 2019, Ms. McKenna, who was the federal environment minister, was assigned a security detail after receiving a series of threatening comments.
An intelligence report released by a federal task force in March, 2024, said threats against politicians had become “increasingly normalized” due to extremist narratives prompted by personal grievances and fuelled by misinformation.
With files from Laura Stone in Oakville, Ont.