Justin Trudeau’s Blackface Photos Force Reckoning On Canada’s Global Image

Until February, it looked like Trudeau would easily win a majority government for a second term, but his popularity took a slide after the SNC-Lavalin controversy began dominating headlines in the Canadian media. One of Trudeau’s most respected ministers, former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, said the Prime Minister’s Office pressured her to help the corporation avoid prosecution for corruption charges.

Wilson-Raybould, who was the highest-ranking Indigenous woman in a Canadian government ever, was eventually booted from the Liberal party — another indication that Trudeau’s actions differ from his words of inclusivity. 

“He’s shown a pattern of troubling behaviour towards those who are racially different,” said Hogarth. “How he treated Jody Wilson-Raybold raised red flags for me.”

The former attorney general herself weighed in on the racist photo scandal Wednesday. 

“It’s awful,” Wilson-Raybould said. “When I first saw it, I didn’t think it was real…

“I’m incredibly proud to be an Indigenous person in this country, one that has experienced racism and discrimination. It’s completely unacceptable for anybody in a position of authority and power to do something like that.”

Brown and blackface are traditionally worn by white people, often in theatre, “to simplify and demean people of colour,” said Hogarth, the University of Waterloo professor. 

“(It) harkens back to a history of racism and an Orientalist mythology, which is unacceptable,” said the National Council of Canadian Muslims executive director Mustafa Farooq in a statement. 

Blackface became a popular, racist form of entertainment in the U.S. in the 1820s, but has a long history in Canada, too. They are countries founded on slavery and the erasure of Indigenous people, with white people empowered through politics, the economy and social stratification, said Andrew-Amofah.

In this environment, “blackface rose in popularity to portray Black people as less than,” she said.

McGill University has tracked almost 350 instances of blackface in Canada between 1841 to 2016 — from the composer of the Canadian national anthem travelling as a blackface minstrel in the mid-1800s, to “Black Pete” being welcomed at an Edmonton bakery just a couple of years ago. 

Before the scandal, the vast majority of Canadians believed Trudeau was more tolerant, compassionate and influential compared to Scheer, his main political opponent, according to a recent poll. 

“He (Trudeau) had built up a tremendous base and foundation of goodwill,” said Shachi Kurl, executive director of the polling firm Angus Reid Institute. “The question becomes does that deep base enable him to survive this, or is it more damaging?”