Trudeau shuts down heckler: ‘Racism has no place’ in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shut down a woman who heckled him about illegal immigration, telling her that “racism has no place” in Canada.

Trudeau was at a rally on Thursday in Sabrevois, Quebec, when a woman began shouting at him in French. The incident was caught on video and later reported by Vice News.

{mosads}“I want to know when you are going to refund the $146 million we paid for your illegal immigrants,” the woman yelled, according to Vice’s translation.

“OK, madame,” Trudeau responded in French. “This intolerance towards immigrants has no room in Canada.”

Trudeau continued with his speech, talking about how Canada was built by groups of immigrants, as the crowd erupted into cheers.

The same woman then approached Trudeau as he was stepping off the stage.

She asked him if he was tolerant toward Québécois.

Trudeau, flanked by security guards, told her that he was a proud Québécois. “Racism has no place here,” the prime minister told her, according to the translation of the video.

The Trudeau’s office did not immediately provide a response when asked for a comment from Vice News on Sunday.

Trudeau has been quick to condemn racism in the past, offering support to Charlottesville, Va., last year after the deadly white supremacist rally there.

“We know Canada isn’t immune to racist violence & hate. We condemn it in all its forms & send support to the victims in Charlottesville,” Trudeau said in a tweet.  

President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has reportedly led to a wave of immigrants crossing the northern border into Canada.

More than 20,000 people, many fearing that the Trump administration would deport them, crossed the border into Canada in search of asylum in 2017, Reuters reported in March.

Following Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, the number of irregular border crossers spiked in July, Vice News reported.

There were 1,634 people intercepted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in July, up from 1,263 people who crossed in June, according to government numbers.

The Canadian government has responded to the influx of asylum seekers by budgeting an additional $173 million for security along the U.S.-Canada border, the outlet noted.

That funding will also provide temporary housing and assist the Immigration and Refugee Board with the influx of cases.