OTTAWA — A couple of Chris Alexander's rivals in the Conservative leadership race are denouncing what happened at a rally in Edmonton over the weekend, when some people in the crowd chanted that Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley should be thrown in jail.
The chant of "lock her up", which echoed those heard at many campaign rallies for now U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, came as Alexander was speaking about Notley at a rally organized by Rebel Media, an online news and right-wing opinion outlet.
Conservative MP Michael Chong says that while the right to free speech must always be defended, it must also be used responsibly.
Chong says that by chanting "lock her up," people in the crowd were urging "undemocratic action" that would be more at home in a dictatorship than in Canada.
Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai is calling it "Trump-style politics invading Canada" and called on the organizers to distance themselves from "hate-mongering and insults."
Alexander says he disapproves of that particular chant, but has been under criticism for not being seen to do anything to stop the protesters or say anything about the words they were using.
