Hours earlier, a gunman shot dead two people in Toronto, Canada’s largest city.
The ministry statement said an incident “involving a man with a knife” took place during the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which features red-suited soldiers in black hats and is popular with tourists.
“The potential threat was identified and neutralized. No one was injured during this incident,” the statement said. It gave no further details.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a man had been arrested after an incident. An RCMP spokesman gave no more details and said the suspect had been handed to Ottawa police, who said they were not able to comment on the incident.
Security on Parliament Hill was boosted significantly after an armed man shot dead a soldier in central Ottawa and then stormed into a parliamentary building in October 2014. He was shot dead by police and security guards.
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