Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surrounded by his security detail in Belleville, Ontario, on Thursday July 20, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
OTTAWA – An event for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cut short in Belleville, Ont., today after nearly 100 protesters surrounded him and his motorcade.
Trudeau was in the city to mark the seventh anniversary of the Liberal government’s Child Care Benefit, to meet with the mayor and to visit a farmers’ market.
Protesters showed up at the market outside city hall as Trudeau met with a crowd of community members and took selfies.
Trudeau was set to meet with about 10 vendors, but he couldn’t make his way to the other side of the public square after being swarmed by the dozens of protesters.
Some of them were holding Trump flags, while others were screaming expletives about the government and the media.
At one point, the prime minister’s security detail pushed away two women who approached his motorcade as he stood on an SUV’s side step waving and smiling at the crowd.
Reacting to the protesters, one city hall worker said the chaos was a shame.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
