Faced with hate, municipal politicians want help turning down the temperature

Emailsand social media posts laden withinvective and personal insults towardmunicipal politicians.

Parking-lot tirades by councillorswho follow colleagues outside after intense city hall exchanges.

Phone calls tothreaten councillorsor even their families.

London city Coun. Skylar Frankeheard these and other anecdotes from politicians from across Canada at the June conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in Calgary.

Hate and harassment directed at municipal politicians has become enough of an issue that FCM delegatespassed a resolution askingthe federal government to step in look at ways to turn down the temperature andmake the job safer.

"We heard aboutdeath threats, derogatory language, especially directed at women and people of colour and people with disabilities," said Franke. "Some are scarier than others but it was almost universal that someone had a story to share."

Social media a big factor, Franke says

Franke, a first-term councillor who once hadsomeone ask for her home address so they could deliver used syringes to her house, said she suspects social media may be a driving factor in the trend.

She said in online exchanges, people seem emboldenedto hurl all manner of insults while remaining anonymous.

"The worst kind of information I've had hurled my way was through social media or email," said Franke, who serves on the Ontario caucus of the FCM board.

The text of the approved FCM resolution warns of an"alarming rise in incidents of harassment, intimidation and acts of violence aimed at elected local government officials."

It comes at a time of increased awareness about political violence in Canada and the United States after last weekend's attempted assassination of former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Even before the Trump shooting, Canada's RCMP commissioner asked federal politicians tolook at laws that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.

Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is calling for the creation of "protective zones"around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from a rising tide of threatening behaviour.

For now, she'd rather not run again

Kelly Elliottendured her share of online insults and harassment while serving as deputy mayor for the municipality of Thames Centre and a councillor for Middlesex County, she said.

"It really got worse after COVID," said Elliott, who hasbeen out of municipal politics since she lost a close mayoral race in Thames Centre in 2022.

"When you're a local politician you're really a lightning rod for it because you're active in your community people know you," she said.

When she served on the Board of Healthfor theMiddlesex-LondonHealth Unit, people threatened to report her to children's aid servicesfor vaccinating her children. During that time, she received a death threat.

"I got calls about how women shouldn't be serving on council, thatwe're too emotional, that kind of thing," she said. "Someone told me they weren't voting for me because they didn't like the way I do my hair."

Elliott supports the spirit of the FCM motion, but she's also skepticalabout its ability tocool down a political environment that has become so polarized and toxic.

"I've been out of politics for a year and a half and if you asked me right now if I would consider running again, my answer would be 'no'," she said.