P.E.I. woman 1 of 300 on the Hill when protesters turned backs on PM

Bronwyn Bridges of Summerside, P.E.I., was one of just over 300 women on Parliament Hill for the annual Daughters of the Vote event, when several of the women attending decided to turn their backs to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in protest.

The Daughters of the Vote is organized by a national group called Equal Voice, and aims for equal representation in government organized by a national group called Equal Voice.

There was a break and as the women were waiting they heard it was Trudeau who was going to be speaking, that is when things began to get tense, Bridges said.

"The tension was definitely high, and as soon as he started talking there was obviously many girls who did clap and stand up for him, but as soon as he began a lot of the girls, the Aboriginal ladies in particular chose to turn their backs to him as he spoke for the entirety of his speech."

Bridges was not one of the women who chose to turn around when the prime minister was speaking, but said tensions arose because of Trudeau's handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair. The women were turning their backs to symbolize the way the prime minister turned his back on Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott.

"So they wanted to turn their back on him," Bridges said.

Jody Wilson-Raybould met with some of the young women on Tuesday, before being removed from caucus that evening.

Didn't feel right joining in

Bridges didn't feel right joining in. She said she didn't feel it was her place and it was a moment for Indigenous women to show their discomfort she said.

"There was a lot of us who didn't stand up and turn, just because we didn't really feel as though it was our part. It was kind of their way to recognize everything that had just been happening in their own way."

People began snapping pictures and taking videos of women's reaction. It was "interesting" sitting there watching the whole thing unfold, Bridges said.

"You see these girls and the looks on their faces as they are turned around and they are shaking their heads. You can tell that everything he is saying they just necessarily don't agree with. And you can tell they want to say something, but there is definitely a lot of passion behind it which is definitely admirable for sure."

When news broke Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott were officially ejected from caucus some of the women went and stood outside Parliament to show how they were feeling, Bridges said.

Not only upset with Trudeau

"Sitting there it was honestly so empowering knowing it was a great opportunity for so many women to speak up about issues that aren't necessarily spoken of in the House very often."

A number of Daughters of the Vote also walked out while Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer was speaking at the event.

"They didn't want to have to hear what he had to say as they didn't believe in a lot of the statements he made," Bridges said.

More P.E.I. news