Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard's security detail whisked him away from a Montreal vigil for the Orlando massacre after a man appeared to take a swing at him.
Video from the scene Thursday evening appeared to show the man either swinging his arm at the Premier or throwing something at him, catching the Premier in the upper body with a light, glancing blow.
Mr. Couillard appeared calm and unhurt as bystanders, security officials and cabinet minister Christine St-Pierre stepped between the man and the Premier.
The young man who was described by organizers as a transgender activist had been invited to speak at the event. As two Montreal police officers hauled him away from the scene, the large crowd chanted "Respect! Respect!"
The incident came on the same day as a British member of Parliament was killed on a street in northern England by a lone man wielding a gun and knife. A witness told the BBC the attacker shouted a nationalist slogan, although police have not confirmed this.
At the Montreal vigil organized to pay respect to the 49 victims of the shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub, Mr. Couillard waded into a dense crowd surrounded by his usual security contingent. No one appeared to be standing between the Premier and the man.
Alexandre Cloutier, the front-runner to replace Pierre Karl Péladeau as leader of the Parti Québécois, immediately tweeted a condemnation of the incident. "It's unacceptable to physically confront our Premier. We must condemn violence without hesitation."