Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds town hall in Mississauga while protesters gather outside

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed firefighters’ questions in a town hall in Mississauga as a small group of protesters rallied outside.

Trudeau was at Mississauga firefighter training facility Garry W. Morden Centre Thursday night (March 16).

Now that lockdowns have ended, Trudeau said he is holding a number of town halls to meet people and have conversations.

But outside, a small group had become very vocal and Trudeau didn’t waste time addressing the protest.

“It seems to be harder and harder to have civil conversations in politics, there’s a lot of noise, a lot of people speaking and shouting and tweeting, not always people listening,” Trudeau said.

“But more listening and discussion is needed in politics. It’s difficult to address complex questions in a short tweet or video,” he added.

Anger can mobilize people.

“Anger doesn’t actually solve problems in the way a full society needs to solve them.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a town hall at firefighter training facility, Garry W. Morden Centre in Mississauga on March 16. Photo by Mississauga Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi

Outside, about seven protestors held Canadian flags, what appeared to be a Dutch flag, and a sign that read “WEF (World Economic Forum) & Trudeau must go.”

One person shouted, “Murderer! he is right here everyone, he is right here in this building.”

They argued with security about being asked to move across the street.

Today in Mississauga. 7 people, who have a vacancy on the top floor, we’re outside a fire station that Trudeau was at.

A reminder to you all that even a city owned property is still considered private property.

Willing to bet a double-double that these 7 people don’t work. pic.twitter.com/XXwHHlag6l

— JB | Polisci (@cdnpoli101) March 16, 2023

Trudeau said mistrust and polarization are stirring people up.

“Folks out there are really angry about something and they are all mad at me and probably some of it is actually my doing but a lot of it probably isn’t,” Trudeau said.

After opening remarks, Trudeau took questions from the audience. Firefighters and their family members asked about mental health issues, battling more frequent wildfires during climate change, and the safety of first responders.

While some people complained anonymously on Twitter that the questions had to be vetted in advance, several firefighters posted photos and thanked Trudeau for addressing important issues.

“Incredible to have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visiting Mississauga’s @IAFF1212 and local firefighters at our Garry Morden training facility,” Mississauga Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi said in a tweet.

Thank you @IAFF1212 and @IAFFCanada for hosting the town hall in partnership with Mississauga Fire, which addressed issues affecting Firefighters and all Canadians with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. pic.twitter.com/0P2bSif3ez

— Mississauga Fire (@MississaugaFES) March 17, 2023