Days of rage: Angry voters brought new tensions to the 2021 campaign trail

Scott Simms ran in seven federal elections, winning six of them. And while he came to terms fairly easily with his 264-vote loss on September 20, the long-time Liberal MP is having a harder time accepting what he experienced on the campaign trail in his largely rural riding in central Newfoundland.

"There was a lot of anger out there for a lot of people. Frustration and anger," Simms said in an interview airing Saturday on CBC's The House.

"I think that over the past little while ... all of our politics and public political discourse, whether it be on Facebook or through some or the radio shows, the anger started to creep back in and people wanted to change, and I accepted that wholeheartedly."

Simms was an MP for 17 years. But he said this election marked the first time he'd faced a threat of physical violence as he went door-to-door — when one man told the 5-foot, 4-inch Simms he'd pick him up and throw him off his driveway.

Political observers have been warning that the increasing polarization of Canadian politics is turning respectful disagreement on issues into open hostility. Examples of that trend were evident during the 2021 campaign.

The RCMP's protective details reported an increase in the number of threats directed at campaigning politicians, even though the election period was shorter than it was two years earlier.

Lawn signs were torn down or defaced in numerous ridings across the country. A candidate's car was vandalized during the night outside his home. A woman was charged with assaulting a candidate in his office.