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Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante says she is “grateful and relieved” that Ottawa police have arrested and charged a man for allegedly threatening the first-term politician’s life.
A 47-year-old man was arrested and charged with uttering threats and harassment, Ottawa police said Wednesday. The man, whose name wasn’t released, appeared in court Wednesday.
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Plante expressed her gratitude on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday night, shortly after the man was arrested.
“I want to thank Ottawa Police who have arrested a man who recently made very detailed and serious threats against me. I am grateful and relieved a very scary situation hasn’t escalated further,” she posted.
“I am grateful and relieved a very scary situation hasn’t escalated further.”
Plante was elected to council in 2023, but previously worked as a political staffer on Parliament Hill where she witnessed MPs deal with their own threats and harassment. She said she was expecting to receive some online abuse when she was elected, but was disturbed by the nature of the threats, which were emailed to her office last week.
“They were two very specific, very detailed emails about how an individual felt about me, how he felt about my mother tongue, how he felt about French,” she said.
“Obviously we get emails from people who are unhappy with us, but there was no reference in these to a policy decision or a quote I’d given. It was about me, personally,” said Plante.
“I get the, ‘I’m never voting for you again.’ I get, ‘I don’t like your dress.’ I get, ‘I don’t like how you handled this or that.’ But I’ve never gotten something so personal.”
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The email was seen first by Plante’s staff. Plante held a quick meeting to decide what to do and it was decided to file a complaint immediately through the Ottawa police online portal.
“They took it very seriously. They gave me instructions and they said ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ ”
Plante says she recognized the suspect from her walks around the ward, but had never spoken to him.
Politicians across Canada have faced rising levels of abuse online, usually from people hiding behind a veil of anonymity.
In February, Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle resigned after less than three years in office, saying she was stepping down to preserve her mental health. Bélisle said at the time that she had been receiving death threats.
Legislation aimed at protecting elected officials from threats and intimidation is currently before Quebec’s National Assembly. A recent survey by Quebec’s union of municipalities found that 74 per cent of elected municipal leaders reported having experienced harassment and intimidation, and that 741 out of 8,000 had quit since the 2021 election.
Plante said she’s not backing down because of her experience and doesn’t want other people to be discouraged from participating in politics.
“It hasn’t made me rethink things, but it has made me pause,” she said.
“He mentioned it many many times about my linguistic background and how much he didn’t like that. I can’t imagine that that would get someone so mad that they’d threaten someone’s life.”
Being French Canadian “is not something I can change,” she said. “I’d never change it. In fact, I’m very proud of it.”
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