A woman travelling through Banff National Park posted a now viral video to Twitter after she alleges a racist interaction occurred.
In her tweet, Victoria said she was assaulted by a man on a Johnston Canyon trail who told her to "go back to her country."
"I was just assaulted by a man who first told me to go back to my own country, at Banff National Park," the tweet reads.
"I reported it to the proper authorities and I hope something happens. But I think it would be good if it goes viral. These people don't get to win."
I was just assaulted by a man who first told me to go back to my own country, at Banff National park. Please share. @BanffNP I reported it to the proper authorities and I hope something happens. But I think it would be good if it goes viral. These people don't get to win. pic.twitter.com/FRe9xnq2tV
— TheTravelTipster (@TravelTipsterGo) August 4, 2019
In a phone interview with the Outlook, Victoria, who asked to have her last name anonymous for security reasons, said she first encountered the man in a line up at Johnston Canyon on Saturday (Aug. 3).
"Basically I had an argument with this guy, he tried to cut in line," she said.
"Then later, I was walking down to the parking lot and I saw him and his friends. I threw a phrase out there that was like 'your friend is really rude' and it turned into a five-year-old type of argument... As soon as I was about to go back onto the trail, he said 'go back to your country.' That's pretty much when the video starts."
Victoria said she was surprised by the comment and immediately pulled out her phone to film.
At the beginning of the video, Victoria can be heard confronting the man about what he allegedly said while two other individuals tell her to "go away" or to "f*** off."
The man then approaches her and appears to grab her phone while asking "is that what you want? I'll throw your phone away."
"It was very clear what he meant, I was pretty scared," she said. "Perhaps confronting him in the woods wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done."
In an email, RCMP said they received a report and are investigating the incident.
"We have received a complaint alleging that an assault occurred at the Johnston Canyon trail system," Sgt. Michael Buxton-Carr wrote.
"The video that has received attention online captures a small piece of the event and our investigators are assessing a more comprehensive picture prior to determining if this is in fact a hate crime."
Buxton-Carr also notes that the incident is an isolated one.
"This is an isolated incident and there is no reason to believe that visitors to Banff National Park are at risk of being harmed or targeted for hate crimes," he wrote.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Outlook has tried to contact the man shown in the video but has not received a response.
By Tuesday (Aug. 6), the video had garnered 1.3 million views and 31,000 retweets.
