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North America Regional Hub: Addressing Anti-Government Hate and Harassment in Times of Crisis — A Federation of Canadian Municipalities Workshop

Publication Date:

05/06/2026

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Event Reports

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Anti-Government HateNorth America Regional Hub

— 13 minutes reading time

This report provides a summary of discussions during the event and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Strong Cities Network Management Unit, Strong Cities members, event sponsors or participants.

Summary

On 5 June 2026, in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), the Strong Cities Network North America Regional Hub convened more than 160 mayors, councillors and other municipal officials from across Canada to discuss the rising hate, harassment and threats targeting local elected leaders and municipal staff, the impact these take on officials, their families and local democracy, and the steps municipalities are taking to prevent and respond to them. Held during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Annual Conference, the session featured remarks from former Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and gave participants space to share personal experiences, exchange good practices and learn from one another.

Key Takeaways

• Robust hate-prevention frameworks at the local level require trusted community partnerships and collaborations to counter hate effectively. As municipalities grapple with increasingly complex threats both online and offline, these partnerships become essential to early intervention and sustained impact. Municipalities can play a major role in prevention by fostering belonging, encouraging collective resilience and supporting residents with tools and frameworks to report hate when they encounter it.
• Women, as well as racialised and Indigenous officials, are disproportionately targeted, and the resulting toll is pushing them out of local public service. Several participants observed that female councillors and visible minorities receive markedly more abuse, linking this to a worrying decline in women seeking and remaining in local office.
• Officials are frequently attacked over matters outside their control, including decisions taken by provincial and federal governments. Participants noted that routine planning approvals and policies set by other orders of government, from health service siting to regional planning, regularly provoke abuse aimed at municipal leaders who had little or no authority over them, leaving many feeling they cannot succeed regardless of the position they take.
• Intensification of this hostility can be traced to the COVID-19 pandemic, the anonymity of social media and a coarsening of political discourse, modelled by senior leaders and amplified by some certain forms of media. Many felt that the erosion of civility begins at higher levels of government and in public commentary, normalising the personal attacks that then surface in their own communities.
• Municipalities want stronger backing from the provincial and federal government, alongside more opportunities to learn from one another. Many municipalities feel unsupported by provincial and federal governments and welcomed the chance to share experiences and approaches with peers facing the same pressures.
• Effective responses require the involvement of local councils, municipal governments and the wider community rather than leaving it to the targeted individual. Participants and facilitators stressed that safety and prevention are a collective responsibility, and that investing in social cohesion and creating neutral spaces for residents to disagree respectfully, away from the pressure of a formal council meeting, can ease hostility before it takes hold.
• Some municipalities are adopting practical measures that protect officials while keeping local government open and accessible and there need to be more opportunities for other municipalities to learn about and, if appropriate, adapt these good practices to their local context. Approaches shared at the session included clear communications policies that keep official channels factual and moderated, proactive outreach about the work of local government, local council codes of conduct, dedicated safety and reporting pathways with a single point of contact, non-partisan resources for candidates, civility pledges and rethinking how council meetings are run to limit disruption.

Key Themes

Understanding the Canadian Threat Landscape

Eric Rosand, Global Chair of the Strong Cities Network, opened the session by welcoming participants and introducing the Strong Cities Network and its work supporting mayors and local governments to prevent and respond to hate, harassment and polarisation. He framed the discussion within Strong Cities’ growing engagement with Canadian municipalities and set the stage for an open, experience-led conversation. Former Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi then offered a keynote reflection on the threat landscape facing municipal officials in Canada. Drawing on the 2025 terrorist attack on Edmonton City Hall, he reminded the room that town and city halls must remain safe, open and accessible places where democracy comes alive in communities.

Reflecting on his four years as mayor, he spoke candidly about when he was harassed while shopping with his family, had his home vandalised, and was called “a traitor, a corrupt foreigner, a terrorist”, at one point having to leave his home over safety concerns. Sohi warned of the democratic cost of this hostility, cautioning that “when good people no longer feel safe stepping up to serve … democracy is weakened”. In response, he outlined five steps for elected officials, institutions and the wider public:

1. Reaffirm that disagreement is not disrespect. In a diverse democracy, robust debate is healthy, but it must be grounded in good faith and respect.
2. Ensure freedom of expression does not become a shield for threats. Holding governments and officials to account is essential to democracy, but criticism cannot tip into dehumanisation.
3. Lead by example. Those in politics, media and public life should lower the temperature of public discourse rather than exploit fear, anger and division for political gain.
4. Better support those who choose to serve. Public service is demanding, but it should never be dehumanising, and no one should have to choose between serving their community and protecting their family.
5. Remember why public institutions matter. Strong institutions underpin fairness, stability, opportunity and trust.

Mayor Sohi closed with a direct appeal to those in the room: “Do not let fear discourage you”.

Understanding the Threats Facing Local Elected Officials

A show of hands at the start of the discussion session showed that nearly all participants had experienced hate or harassment in their role. Much of it occurs online. A longtime councillor from British Columbia described ongoing abuse directed at her municipality’s mayor and a fellow councillor, including vandalism of property and repeated insulting messages. A recently elected mayor from British Columbia reported online attacks following a by-election, including accusations of racism and dishonesty, some of which came from a sitting council colleague who later withdrew from the council’s code of conduct, citing free speech. Participants noted that the anonymity of these accounts makes it difficult to tell whether those responsible are residents expressing genuine concerns or outside agitators, and several linked the rising hostility to the pandemic and to the more polarised politics of the United States. Others observed that incivility is often modelled by senior politicians and amplified by the media, setting an example that filters down to the local level.

Participants also described in-person intimidation and concerns for their physical safety. Following the attack in Edmonton, the councillor from British Columbia noted that her municipality had added an emergency exit and restricted access to its building. A councillor from a rural part of Alberta said he had been challenged to fights and faced repeated intimidation. A newly elected councillor from Alberta said she did not feel safe canvassing alone as a woman, while a councillor from Prince Edward Island said she is now escorted to her car after meetings. A councillor from a municipality in Alberta reported threats against him and his family after a contentious vote on a shared emergency services arrangement.

Several participants commented that women and racialised and Indigenous officials face the most severe abuse. A regional director from British Columbia said women and visible minorities are targeted far more often than others, and another councillor noted that fewer women are entering and staying in local politics. An Indigenous councillor from Alberta described being threatened with violence while canvassing after disclosing her Indigenous identity and receiving racist messages through her public contact form. A mayor from Alberta said that after she criticised a local business known for racist content, its followers shared her home address and her children’s school online. Hostility also took legal and financial forms: a councillor from a rural municipality in Alberta said he had spent tens of thousands of dollars defending himself against a lawsuit he saw as an attempt to force him out, and a village mayor from British Columbia said lawsuits and harassment, including from within council, had become routine.

A common theme was that officials are often targeted over decisions beyond their control. The mayor from a city in Alberta said many threats against her and her children related to matters she had no authority over, echoing her father’s experience as a mayor targeted over a provincial health decision. A local councillor from Prince Edward Island said she was personally attacked for applying planning rules as written, that her teenage daughter stopped visiting a local store after being confronted there, and that the provincial government had not supported affected officials. A mayor from a village in British Columbia warned that without stronger provincial and federal support, the cycle will continue, discouraging capable people from running. A newly elected councillor from Alberta added that growing polarisation makes respectful dialogue across differences harder. Several participants said the cumulative toll was leading some officials to question whether to continue.

Good Practices from across the Strong Cities Network

Owen Foster, Strong Cities’ Canada Manager, then presented good practices from municipalities across the Network. These are drawn from the toolkit Strong Cities developed with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, which sets out 130 practical recommendations organised around seven entry points for city-led action. He shared seven examples:

1. Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States): a local prevention framework that brings community leaders and officials together to address the causes of anti-government sentiment and strengthen social cohesion.
2. Auckland, New Zealand: a non-partisan online resource helping candidates protect their privacy and stay safe during election campaigns.
3. Cheshire, United Kingdom: a councillor safety protocol with formal reporting pathways and a single nominated officer linking councillors to police.
4. Burlington (Ontario, Canada): the Elect Respect pledge, inviting officials, candidates and residents to commit to respectful conduct and to support those who are targeted.
5. Calgary (Alberta, Canada): a youth initiative run by the public library that teaches media literacy to counter online misinformation.
6. Boulder (Colorado, United States): redesigned community and council forums that move away from traditional meeting formats to reduce disruption and build trust.
7. Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada): a workplace restoration programme that addresses disrespectful conduct affecting councillors and municipal staff.

Foster noted that these are only a sample of the toolkit’s recommendations, all of which are available through the Strong Cities website.

The Role of Councils and Local Governments in Preventing and Responding to Hate and Harassment

The second discussion session turned from the nature of these threats to what municipalities can do about them. Guided by questions about which measures help prevent and mitigate harassment, how leaders can build resilience and public trust while countering misinformation and what lessons and partnerships might strengthen local responses, participants shared a range of practical approaches, many drawn from their own councils.

Effective communication emerged as a central theme. Several participants cautioned against engaging directly with online abuse, arguing that doing so only amplifies it, and recommended instead publishing accurate information quickly and clearly. A councillor in Port Alberni, British Columbia, said she responds to misinformation by setting out the facts of what the council had decided rather than debating critics. A mayor from a municipality in Ontario described recording short videos immediately after each council meeting to explain decisions and how members voted, which he said had made false claims harder to sustain, and noted that traditional media releases can easily be overlooked. A councillor in Abbotsford, British Columbia, pointed to her municipality’s Your Council in the Community programme, which translates technical council reports into plain, accessible updates and has, in her view, improved public understanding and lowered the temperature of local debate. A regional director with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District recommended keeping official messaging positive and removing abusive comments under a clear policy, while a councillor and former journalist in Lethbridge (Alberta) described disabling comments on his own channels to prevent anonymous abuse. Owen Foster suggested the additional practical step of enabling profanity filters alongside a stated conduct policy on official pages.

A second theme was resilience and mutual support. One mayor encouraged officials to build a network of trusted peers, inside and outside their own municipality, whom they can turn to, noting he wished he had done so earlier in his tenure. Another mayor described Local Leaders for Mental Health, a confidential monthly call he convenes for local leaders to share challenges and build resilience, and called on those who do not face the same barriers, particularly men who are not from minority communities, to act as allies for women and equity-seeking colleagues.   

Rosand encouraged participants to view prevention and response as a shared responsibility rather than a burden carried by the targeted individual alone. He posited that efforts to correct misinformation are more credible when trusted community partners, rather than the government itself, act as the messengers, and urged officials to invest in those relationships early. He pointed to examples from across the Strong Cities Network, including the Mayor of Savannah, in the United States, who used weekly Facebook live sessions to engage residents outside the council chamber, and Copenhagen, which funded trained digital volunteers to help moderate divisive online conversations. He also recommended engaging critics in a range of settings beyond the council chamber and working with police to understand which narratives are gaining traction locally, and several participants spoke of the value of modelling respectful dialogue themselves, including by listening to those they disagree with rather than treating them as opponents.

Participants also discussed governance measures. One councillor emphasised the role of a strong chair in setting a respectful tone and described adopting a policy to manage vexatious or repeated complaints so that council time is not repeatedly consumed by the same unfounded grievances. He and others raised concerns about being asked to judge a colleague following an integrity review, and Rosand suggested that a province-wide body might be better placed to handle such cases than individual municipalities. One mayor cautioned that blocking people on social media can provoke further attacks and advised grounding any such action in a code of conduct first, and he suggested that election candidates publicly commit together to respectful campaigning to set the tone for a race. A councillor recommended a recent handbook on civic leadership, Lead with Civility, as a resource for councils. Others argued that stronger legislation is needed to protect public officials, citing incidents that had been treated by police as minor despite their impact on those targeted.

Next Steps

The session coincided with the official release of the French-language version of the Strong Cities—AMM Toolkit for Manitoba Municipalities: Addressing Anti-Government Hate and Harassment. Translated by the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, this new version ensures all municipalities in Manitoba have access to its recommendations and promising practices. Strong Cities will continue to support local elected officials and municipal governments facing these challenges by sharing good practices, facilitating peer learning and exploring further training and support with partners such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Additional Resources

• A Toolkit for Manitoba Municipalities: Addressing Anti-Government Hate and Harassment, Strong Cities Network and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities  
• North America Regional Hub: Enhancing Local Efforts to Address Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) and Misogyny as Drivers of Social Polarisation and Violence, Strong Cities Network (January 2026)
• A Guide for Mayors: Preventing and Responding to Hate, Extremism & Polarisation, Strong Cities Network (Updated March 2025)
• A Guide for Cities: Preventing Hate, Extremism & Polarisation (see Navigating Difficult Issues), Strong Cities Network (Updated March 2025)
• A Ten-Step Roadmap for Enhancing City-Led Support for Community-Based Programmes to Address Hate and Extremism, Strong Cities Network (February 2025)
• Community Resilience Study: Kumanovo, North Macedonia, Strong Cities Network (Updated February 2025)
• A Guide for City-Led Response, Strong Cities Network (Updated February 2025)
• Bridging Differences Playbook, Greater Good Science Center & Bridging Differences (February 2025)
• Countering Hate Speech in Times of Crisis: Considerations for Mayors and Local Governments, Strong Cities Network (December 2024)
• A Practical Guide to Youth Capacity Building for Countering Hate and Extremism, Strong Cities Network (updated September 2024)
• Digital Self-Defence Toolkit Prince Edward Island Coalition for Women’s Leadership
• Standing Strong Toolkit: A CAO’s Guide to Professionalism Amidst Incivility, Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators 
  

Contact Information 

For more information on this event or Strong Cities North America programming, please contact the North America Regional Hub at [email protected].

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