Stephen Harper's security detail restrained and removed a protester who rushed the stage and got within a metre of the Conservative leader at a campaign rally in Surrey, B.C.

While climate change activists have occasionally interrupted Harper's events with signs and shouts, Thursday night's fracas marked the first time on the campaign trail that Harper's security had to surround him.

Harper continued his speech and even got a laugh from supporters, referencing the disturbance when he said the other political parties' policies would significantly raise risks "a lot more than that."

Later on at the event, another protester tried to interrupt Harper from the crowd and was removed from the event by security as Conservative supporters chanted "Harper! Harper!"

The Conservative leader made another quip of the incident, saying the other parties "know they're in trouble when they stop coming to their own rallies and come to ours instead."

A climate change protest group later said that three people were ejected from the event, with the man who approached the stage detained by police.

The group 350Vancouver.org, which opposes expansion of the Alberta oil sands, issued a news release saying their members were involved and one was detained by police.

They protested "to demand real climate action and express their concerns about the climate impacts of tar sands expansion."

The group also said they are opposed to the proposed Kinder Morgan and Enbridge pipelines.

"Local organizers have pledged to continue organizing to stop tar sands from passing through Burnaby, Coquitlam or Langley, or through the newly proposed route through Surrey and Delta," said the release.