The Liberal federal election candidate for Nickel Belt in northern Ontario was assaulted in his campaign office, and a 56-year-old woman was arrested and charged, Greater Sudbury police say.
Incumbent Marc Serré was in the office when the incident occurred Monday around 10 a.m. ET, police said.
A woman entered the office and began yelling at Serré and his staff. Police said she pushed a table against him, pinning him against the wall.
Serré recorded the incident with his cellphone, but the woman struck at his hands twice to swipe the phone away.
Staff asked the woman to leave the office. Police said she initially refused, but eventually left.
A while later, police said, the woman confronted Serré in his office parking lot and kicked the hood of his car while yelling at him.
The woman later tried to enter the campaign office to retrieve some of her belongings, but the door was locked. Police said she then kicked the door.
Police arrested and charged her with assault with a weapon. She was later released, with a Nov. 17 court date to answer for the charge.
Serré calls incident ‘concerning’
“My home has not been immune to this type of behaviour,” Serré told the CBC following news of the incident in his campaign office.
“It’s concerning to my wife, it’s concerning to myself, and I don’t understand why individuals will even come by my home to intimidate and to bully.”
Serré declined to go into detail about Monday’s incident, but said the climate of this election has been different than during his past two campaigns in 2015 and 2019.
“There’s definitely a different tone,” he said. ” A very small number of individuals think that they could use intimidation, violence or, you know, vandalism and harassment to get their point across. And I’m sorry, that is not the way to do things.”
To ensure the safety of his campaign staff and volunteers, Serré said his campaign office will remain locked. In addition, he said, his team members have been canvassing in groups to ensure their own safety.