RCMP investigating online threats against new Liberal MP Chris d'Entremont after floor-crossing

OTTAWA — RCMP in Nova Scotia says it is investigating online threats made against Liberal MP Chris d’Entremont after his floor-crossing from the Opposition Conservatives.

A spokeswoman says that Mounties in Yarmouth, located in southwestern Nova Scotia, began investigating after receiving a report of “online threats” on Wednesday.

“This activity has been reported to the RCMP and there’s an open, ongoing investigation. We’re unable to comment on operational details related to protective measures,” wrote Allison Gerrard, a communications advisor for the RCMP in Nova Scotia.

The day before the RCMP said it received the report, d’Entremont, who has represented the Nova Scotia riding of Acadie—Annapolis since 2019, sent shockwaves through Parliament by quitting the federal Conservatives and joining Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals.

While Liberals offered d’Entremont a hero’s welcome, Conservative MPs responded with a mix of disappointment and anger, with many saying he had betrayed voters and those who helped get him elected. Ontario MP Jamil Jivani called him “an idiot,” while B.C. MP Aaron Gunn referred to him as “a coward.”

A request for comment from d’Entremont has not yet been returned.

The RCMP, in recent years, has warned of the growing volume of threats facing elected officials, particularly online, which has led to a spike in demand from the unit dedicated to protecting public officials.

Carney, as well as several of his cabinet ministers, receives protection, as does Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who told CBC News in an interview last month that he was concerned for his family amid growing incidents of political violence.

For his part, d’Entremont has explained his decision to cross the floor by saying he that he was not feeling “aligned with the ideals,” of Poilievre and had mused that several of his former colleagues were in the “same boat.”

National Post

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