A man was grocery shopping with his wife and child when a stranger started talking to him about tariffs.
Calgary police say the conversation ended with a threat to go get a shotgun and shoot him in front of his family.
"This was an extremely dangerous situation that could have turned out much worse than it did," Staff Sgt. Joe Hebert said in a news release.
What police say happened
Just after noon on September 3, at the Woodbine Safeway at 2525 Woodview Dr. S.W., a man shopping with his wife and child was approached by a 49-year-old man they didn't know.
The man made comments about tariffs, according to police, then became visibly agitated and began shouting anti-Canadian and pro-American remarks.
The situation escalated, and police allege he threatened to get a shotgun and shoot the man in front of his wife and child.
Store employees intervened. Police were notified, and the man was escorted out.
What happened next
Officers located him at his home in Woodlands, the neighbouring community, in the 400 block of Woodside Road S.W.
Witnesses reported seeing a man with a gun. Officers heard a gunshot inside the home.
Nobody was hurt.
He was arrested within an hour of the time police say he first approached the family.
What was seized
Police recovered two firearms, including a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, along with ammunition and a BB gun.
The charges
Uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
Possession of an unlicensed weapon.
Careless storage of a firearm.
He faces several charges in total and is due in court on September 17. None of the allegations has been proven.
The timing
September 3 was five days before Canada's counter-tariffs took effect.
The United States imposed 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods on August 22. Ottawa announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation on about 700 American products, which landed September 8.
The two weeks between those dates were the most heated stretch of the dispute so far, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying Canada had been attacked and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly mocking the country's military capabilities.
This is the second Calgary incident
The trade war has now produced two separate confrontations involving private individuals in Calgary, pointing in opposite political directions.
In late August, a Calgary home flying American flags and Trump banners was egged and had bagged dog excrement thrown onto the property. Some people posted online about torching it. The homeowners are Americans who moved to Calgary for work more than a decade ago, and they told The Canadian Press they fear for their safety.
Calgary police confirmed a vandalism report in that case and said there weren't sufficient grounds for criminal charges over the online attacks.
Our coverage of that incident is here.
Different politics, same pattern. A trade dispute between governments is landing on individuals.
Where it happened
Woodbine and Woodlands are adjacent residential communities in southwest Calgary, south of Anderson Road and west of 14 Street.
The Safeway on Woodview Drive is the neighbourhood grocery store, the kind of place people shop with their kids on a weekday at noon.
If you have information
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at calgarycrimestoppers.org.
What's still unknown
Whether the accused has any prior record, which police haven't addressed.
What prompted the gunshot officers heard inside the home.
Police have not released his name, and they have not stated his nationality. The description of anti-Canadian and pro-American remarks is how police characterized what he was shouting during the incident.
Sources
Calgary Police Service news release, September 9, 2026
Comments from Staff Sgt. Joe Hebert and details of the incident as reported by CBC News. Counter-tariff dates from Department of Finance Canada.
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