Ontario premier suggests immigrants guilty of Jewish school shooting

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Ontario Premier Doug Ford landed in hot water Thursday after implying that immigrants to the province are responsible for a shooting at a Toronto Jewish school, media outlets reported.

“Enough is enough. You are bringing problems from everywhere else in the world, bringing it to Ontario and going after other Canadians,” Ford said.

“That's unacceptable. I have an idea: before you plan on moving to Canada, do not come if you're going to terrorize neighborhoods like this. It's simple as that,” he added, CBC News reported.

Ford made the remarks in reply to a reporter’s question about an update on the shooting as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood nearby. The two were at an unrelated press conference in Toronto. Ford’s remarks were quickly picked up by media outlets across the country.

Ford was referring to an incident where shots were fired at a Jewish girl’s school on May 25. It occurred around 4.50 a.m. Police said they have security video of the shooting and are searching for two suspects in a dark-colored vehicle but to date have not publicly identified anyone, CBC News reported.

His remarks were quickly denounced, with the provincial leaders of the Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties all calling for Ford to apologize, NOW Toronto reported.

“I’m appalled by the Premier’s racist remarks,” New Democrat Party Leader Marit Stiles said on X.

“Dividing the people of Ontario isn’t leadership,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie posted on X. “Our province deserved better from its Premier. Doug Ford must apologize now.”

Ford attempted to clarify his remarks in a post on X.

“My comments today meant to stress that there is more that unites us than divides us,” he said. “While there will always be room for disagreement, violent acts that target specific religions or ethnicities do not reflect who we are or the values that represent our province.”