Trudeau vows campaign won't change course after threat forced him to wear bulletproof vest

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau vowed he won'tchange how he campaigns despite being the target of anundefined threat that forced him to wear a bulletproofvest and beef up protective measures duringa rally in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday.

Speaking Sunday to reporters in Toronto, Trudeau refused to offer any specifics about the threat, saying only that his first concern was for the safety of hisfamily and forall the Canadians at the Mississauga event.

"This will not change at all how I campaign,but I'm not going to make any further comments on it."

Trudeau's scheduled appearance at Saturday'srally, which attracted 2,000 supporters, was delayed by 90 minutes and featured a much heavier security detail once hetook thestage.

Uniformed tactical officers wearing heavy backpacks surrounded Trudeau during his address.Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grgoire Trudeau, had been scheduled to introduce him, but shedid not appear on stage.CBC News sources later confirmed the beefed-up security was a result of a security threat.

Trudeau was askedwhy they didn'tjust cancel the event for the safetyof the 2,000 people ifthe security concerns were such that they prompted the cancellation of his wife's appearance and forced him to wear a protective vest.

Trudeau repeated his priority was the safety of his family and the people in the room.

"I took advice from the RCMP, worked with them," he said.

Trudeau also scolded the Conservatives forlaunching personal attacks leading up to the Oct. 21 vote,andspreading falsehoods andmisinformation online about him that he said has also ledto increased polarization and has affected people negatively.

But he did not directly blame the party for the threat against him.

In light of the threat, otherpartyleaders put partisan politics aside to show support for Trudeau.

"Very upsetting to hear that Justin Trudeau had to wear a bulletproof vest tonight at a campaign event," the Conservative LeaderAndrew Scheer tweeted Saturday night.

"Threats of violence against political leaders have absolutely no place in our democracy. Thank you to the RCMP for taking these threats seriously and keeping us safe."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also tweeted Saturday night that any threatagainst Trudeau or any other leader is"troubling to us all."

"No matter how you vote or believe, no one should face threats of violence," he tweeted. "To the officers who protect all of us thank you."

Speaking in Burnaby, B.C., Singh reiterated thathe wanted to let Trudeau know he's sorry the Liberal leaderhad to ramp up security.

Singh said his team hasn't received any specific threats and "they're just doing their job to keep me safe."

Bloc Qubcois LeaderYves-Franois Blanchettold reporters"there's absolutelyno reason for any kind forviolence," whetherphysical, verbal or threats through social media.

"If the authorities have judged that Mr. Trudeau required somemore security, Ican only agree with that."

But Blanchetdid acknowledge he has received some kinds of threats, althoughnothing judged sufficient to require intervention by the authorities.

"I believe everybody has received that."

RCMP officials have told CBC News that when a political leader faces a serious security threat,the RCMP will complete a threat assessment.The leader's protective detail will then sit down with the leader to discuss how the RCMPwould like to proceed. Together, all will then negotiate a plan.

If the leader still wants to attend an event despite the threat level being high, the RCMP would implement additional safety measures.

Last month, sources told CBC News the RCMPwere compiling daily threat reports on online hate targeting federal political leaders during the campaign leading up to the Oct. 21 election, fearing it could spill over into real-world violence.

Meanwhile, there hasbeen an increase in online posts condoning violence during thecampaign, according to government sources close to the file.