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The main entrance to Rideau Hall in Ottawa appears to have been damaged.
An armed member of the Canadian Army was arrested after driving a van through the gates of a farm where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, according to police.
The suspect used his vehicle to break through the main entrance to Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Thursday morning.
He then entered the grounds on foot before being confronted by police.
The man was arrested without incident at 08:30 local time (12:30 GMT). He is detained, with pending charges.
Trudeau and his family, who currently live in a cabin on the Rideau Hall property while the Prime Minister’s official residence is being renovated, were not home at the time of the incident.
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Nor does Governor General Julie Payette, who resides in Rideau Hall as the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada’s head of state.
“We thank the RCMP and the police for quickly resolving the situation this morning at Rideau Hall. All of our staff is safe,” Payette tweeted Thursday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said the suspect was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, whose identity “will be confirmed as soon as possible.”
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The suspect’s car was inspected by a bomb disposal unit as a precaution.
The RCMP said it is working closely with the Canadian Armed Forces to investigate the incident, which was resolved “quickly and safely.”
“Through vigilance of our members, rapid action and successful de-escalation techniques, this highly volatile incident was resolved quickly and peacefully,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Duheme.
The grounds of Rideau Hall, located on an 88-acre (0.35 square kilometer) forested estate, have been closed to the public during the coronavirus pandemic.
Images taken outside of Rideau Hall appear to show damage to its main pedestrian door, which the suspect went through in his vehicle. The vehicle was deactivated on impact, the RCMP said.
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Trudeau and his family live in a cabin on the farm grounds.
Other images show an empty black van on the farm grounds. The RCMP said an army unit with a bomb disposal robot searched the vehicle as a precaution.
Citing sources, the Canadian media outlet Global News said the suspect had multiple firearms, including a rifle and two shotguns. The man indicated that he wanted to speak to the prime minister but gave himself peacefully to the police, a source told Global News.
CBC News quoted a source as saying the suspect had driven his truck from the central province of Manitoba, about 1,900 km (1,180 miles) west of Ottawa.
Trudeau has moved to limit ownership of certain weapons in Canada, where gun ownership is popular, especially in rural parts of the country.
He introduced a long-promised ban on assault-style weapons in May this year, after a weapon sparked an uproar in Nova Scotia province that became the deadliest shooting in Canadian history.
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