Prescott, Ont., man pleads guilty to uttering death threat aimed at Conservative MP

A Prescott, Ont., man has been banned from owning firearms and other weapons for three years and sentenced to one year probation after pleading guilty to one charge of uttering death threats, which were aimed at Ontario Conservative MP Michael Barrett.

Daniel Elwood MacKay entered his plea at the Ontario Court of Justice located in Brockville, Ont., on April 16, according to court documents obtained by CBC News.

He initially faced two counts of uttering death threats, dating back to July 18, 2024. One threat was aimed at Barrett, who serves as his party's ethics critic, and another aimed at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Court documents show the second charge, involving the threat against Poilievre's life, was withdrawn.

MacKay was also sentenced to pay $100 into a fund for victims.

He lives in Barrett's Ontario riding and only lives about an hour away from Poilievre's former riding of Carleton.

Barrett said that the threat against his life was made by MacKay in a statement to police while they investigated threats made online against Poilievre.

"I'm grateful to law enforcement and the courts for treating the matter seriously. No one in public life should be subjected to threats of violence for doing their job," Barrett said in a statement.

"I chose to run for office because I want to provide hope and deliver results for the people of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands-Rideau Lakes, and I'm dedicated to that every single day."

MPs and security officials have been raising concerns about similar issues for months, saying threats against elected officials have reached a level that is untenable.

In May, the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms warned that harassment of MPs has spiked almost 800 per cent in five years.

Patrick McDonell told a committee of MPs that his office has started "bulk filing" harassment complaints received by MPs because of the surge, noting there were about eight files involving threatening behaviour in 2019, while in 2023 there 530.

In July 2024, the head of the RCMP unit responsible for protecting politicians told CBC's Power & Politics that the number of MPs asking for protection has almost doubled since 2018.

In recent months, offices have been vandalized, families have been harassed, and at least one MP said she wouldn't run again due to the threats and harassment she faced.

Last year, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said he wanted the government to look at drafting a new law to make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials, but former justice minister Arif Virani suggested that existing Criminal Code provisions were sufficient.