Five Canadian provinces as well as the Northwest Territories will hold municipal elections this year. Increasing political polarization often occupies centre stage in larger debates about democracy, but hostility and intimidation are a growing concern for municipal politicians as well. Just over 45 per cent of those surveyed last year identified harassment as somewhat of a problem or a big problem in their municipalities. Canada can learn from other countries how to prevent this issue from worsening.

Most mainstream media reporting on harassment has focused on provincial or federal politicians. This is unsurprising. Incidents involving high-profile figures — for example, threatening the prime minister or a premier — are more likely to capture attention. Yet our previous work on municipal politics shows that harassment is shaping local politics, too.

B.C. election tests new policies to protect elections from digital threats Stopping the hostile online attacks hurled at candidates The banality of online toxicity

B.C. election tests new policies to protect elections from digital threats

Stopping the hostile online attacks hurled at candidates

The banality of online toxicity

A systematic scan of Canadian news articles published between Jan. 1, 2020, and June 30, 2025, identified and documented 152 cases of reported harassment. We organized these cases by level of government (federal, provincial, municipal) and by type of threat (online, in-person, on the phone or via vandalism).

Our findings reveal a trend of increasing levels of reported harassment, peaking at 43 cases in 2024 (the last full year analyzed). Online harassment accounted for 37.9 per cent of cases, while in-person threats made up 26.4 per cent. Threats........

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