Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been criticised after a video of him dancing at a Taylor Swift concert in Toronto surfaced online amid protests in Montreal. Trudeau represents Montreal in Parliament.
The viral footage, circulating on social media, captured Trudeau singing along to “You Don’t Own Me” just before Swift’s performance on Friday night. Meanwhile, over 300 miles away in Montreal, anti-NATO protesters were wreaking havoc, setting cars on fire and clashing with police.
According to the Montreal Gazette, the protests in Montreal, saw Palestinian flags and the burning of an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also saw demonstrators using smoke bombs and small explosive devices against police. Reports indicate that metal objects were hurled at officers during the night of unrest.
Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament representing a Toronto constituency, criticized Trudeau’s actions on social media, according to the New York Post.
“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote on X. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government. Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” he added.
.Trudeau on Saturday talked about the unrest. “What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling…Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them,” he said.
(With inputs from New York post and CBC news)