‘I don’t think I’ve ever respected Jagmeet Singh more’: Canadians back NDP leader after ‘corrupted b——‘ altercation with hecklers in Ottawa

Canadians are lauding NDP leader Jagmeet Singh for standing up to hecklers on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, in a now viral clip doing rounds on social media.

In the video, Singh is seen turning around and approaching two protesters after hearing someone call him a “corrupted bastard.” The phrase can be heard in the clip, however, upon confronting the two protesters, no one admits to having yelled the insult at Singh.

“You’re a coward if you’re not going to say it to my face,” Singh told one of the protesters.

The protester replied saying he would “admit it” if he were the one who “said something like that.” To which Singh said “alright” before walking away.

Regardless of what side of the political spectrum they fell on, the incident struck a chord with many Canadians who found respect for Singh in his act of standing against “bullies.”

“My brother has stood up to bullies his whole life, and we all know bullies fold when someone stands up to them,” Singh’s brother Gurratan posted in a note on X, formerly known as Twitter.

‘Canadians believe in lifting each other up. Not tearing each other down’: Singh urges Canadians to stand against bullies

Singh was a hot topic among trending conversations across social media platforms after the video of the verbal altercation went viral online.

Hours later on Tuesday night, after the clip gained momentum on social media, Singh penned a note on X in which he rallied Canadians to stand against bullying while insinuating that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is responsible for “spewing hate” among Canadians.

The Conservatives have since denied any link to the protesters that harassed Singh, after the Liberals blamed them for the incident.

It comes after Conservative MP Michael Cooper was reported to be out socializing with the same group of protesters who have been outside Parliament Hill this week, according to the Press Progress. Cooper denied association with the protesters; instead, he says he was approached by them while having dinner.

The incident in Ottawa on Tuesday is being seen as somewhat of a win for the Ontario-native following weeks of backlash, as Canadians online are now hailing him as someone who “stood on business.”

Singh is a trained fighter who won Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships in high school

As Singh’s brother Gurratan noted in his reaction to the Tuesday incident on X, the NDP leader is “trained in MMA for years.”

Growing up as a turban-wearing brown kid in Canada, Singh experienced racism and found himself in a lot of fights. It laid the foundation of his entry into martial arts, where he was able to regain his self-confidence and learn self-defence, as he recounts in his interview with GQ.

“Kids would say: ‘You’re dirty, your skin is dirty, why don’t you take a shower’ … or ‘You’re not a boy, you’re a girl because you have long hair,’ and then they would just come up and pull my hair, or just punch me,” he shared with HuffPo.

A win for Singh amid political tension on Parliament Hill

Lately, Singh has found himself in the midst of a backlash and political pressure from the Conservatives after he pulled support of the Liberal Party, leaving Justin Trudeau in charge of a minority government.

However, Singh has refused to partake in any talks of a non-confidence motion anchored by Poilievre to bring down the government. Instead, he has been fielding criticism amid accusations of only supporting the government until he is eligible for his MP pension in February.

In response, Singh refuses to encourage Poilievre’s non-confidence motion, saying he is not going to listen to him while accusing the Conservatives of wanting to take away dental care coverage from Canadians, among other things.

“I’m not going to listen to your advice,” said Singh. “You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”