Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says he is 'grateful' Peel Police took threats that targeted him and his family seriously.Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press
The mayor of Brampton, Ont., says a threat against him and his family that prompted police protection and triggered an arrest was allegedly sent in an e-mail from an international server.
“They just said, ‘We’re going to come and kill you and your wife and your son,’” Mayor Patrick Brown told The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Brown said the e-mail was allegedly sent to Brampton City Hall from a server in Sweden.
Peel Regional Police announced on Wednesday that they arrested a Brampton man in connection with the alleged threats. Kanwarjyot Singh Manoria, 29, was arrested and charged Tuesday with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
Mr. Manoria was released early Wednesday after an appearance in Brampton court. Defence lawyer Naveen Batish said in an interview that his client will fight the charge.
“Mr. Manoria maintains his innocence and he’s committed to fully participating in the legal process to clear his name,” he said.
Charge sheets filed in Brampton’s Ontario Court of Justice allege that on June 21, Mr. Manoria “did knowingly utter a threat to Patrick Brown to cause bodily harm or death.”
Mr. Manoria was released Wednesday on a $10,000 bond and is now banned from having weapons or accessing the internet outside the presence of his bail surety, court documents state.
He was also instructed to stay away from Mr. Brown and his family.
Mr. Manoria’s next scheduled court appearance is Aug. 13. Court records show that he previously faced a charge in 2019 for allegedly uttering threats against another person. The charge was withdrawn in November, 2020.
On Tuesday, Peel Regional Police announced that the Mayor was under police protection. In a statement, the force said it seized electronic devices during the investigation.
Mr. Brown said he was “grateful” that Peel Police took the threats seriously after city staff forwarded the e-mail to them.
Politicians in Canada get different levels of police protection based on a variety of factors – including the threats they may face, their public profiles and which levels of government they work for.
Earlier this year, the RCMP warned in a ministerial briefing document that its Protective Policing unit’s ability to safeguard top federal politicians could be strained if the police force took on other duties.
“A reallocation of border resources may be to the detriment of other high priority investigations and priorities such as national security, serious and organized crime, as well as the RCMP’s Protective Policing program,” the memo said.
Other Canadian politicians who have faced threats in recent years include former MP Catherine McKenna. In 2019, Ms. McKenna, who was the federal environment minister, was assigned a security detail after receiving a series of threatening comments.
Liberal MP for Oakville North-Burlington, Pam Damoff, listed “threats and misogyny” as reasons she decided not to seek re-election last year.
In September, a Toronto man was criminally charged after he uttered threats against former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland on TikTok.
An intelligence report released by a federal task force in March, 2024, said threats against politicians had become “increasingly normalized” due to extremist narratives prompted by personal grievances and fuelled by misinformation.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow spoke out Wednesday against the threats directed at Mr. Brown.
“I know him well. I hope he stays safe. Anyone receiving threats – it’s just unacceptable,” Ms. Chow told reporters.
Ms. Chow said she has herself been threatened during her decades of being an elected politician. She said her husband, former federal NDP leader Jack Layton, also received threats before he died of cancer in 2011.
“Were we fearful? No. And one cannot live with fear,” she said.
With a report from Stephanie Chambers and The Canadian Press