NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh revealed Saturday that he considered stepping down from his position after being informed of a credible threat to his life in late 2023.
Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in London, Ontario, Singh said the RCMP warned him about a serious threat, resulting in heavy police protection for him and his family throughout late 2023 and early 2024. The news, he said, left him deeply shaken.
“When I got that threat, I was floored,” Singh recalled. “When I started thinking about what it meant for me and my family — that I was the target of a real threat to my life — I had the chills.”
At the time, Singh’s wife, Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu, was pregnant with their second child, and their eldest daughter was nearly two years old. Singh said he spent the first few days following the warning confined to the basement of his home, on the advice of security officials, to stay away from windows.
“It was a pretty serious thing,” he said.
Faced with the gravity of the situation, Singh and his wife had difficult conversations about whether he should continue as leader of the NDP. The threats, Singh said, were tied to his status as a “prominent elected official.” Despite the personal risks, he ultimately chose to stay on, driven by unfinished work, including finalizing the national dental care program the NDP pushed the Liberals to adopt.
While the RCMP did not disclose the specific source of the threats, Singh said the “implication” was that they may have originated from a foreign government.
As Singh fights to hold onto his political career ahead of Monday’s election, his decision to persevere reflects both the personal sacrifices and the dangers faced by public figures in an increasingly volatile political climate.