By Canadian Press

Indigenous candidates ‘hurt,’ ‘frustrated’ by Trudeau blackface photos

Sep 19, 2019 | 2:10 PM

VANCOUVER — Indigenous candidates from multiple parties say they felt shock, pain and frustration when they saw newly surfaced photos of Justin Trudeau made up in brownface and blackface.

Candidates reacted to the scandal engulfing the Liberal leader at the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting in Vancouver today.

Joan Phillip, an NDP candidate in B.C.’s Interior, says it’s absolutely unacceptable that Trudeau did such a thing at age 29, and if he had any integrity he would step down.

A Green candidate in a Vancouver Island riding, Lydia Hwitsum, says she was hurt by the image and it’s frustrating to see a leader who can’t set the sort of example that Canada deserves.

The Liberal candidate in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Michelle Corfield, says she was disappointed but she hopes Canada listens to Trudeau’s apology and learns something from his past actions.

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Green Leader Elizabeth May and Independent candidates Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott also attended the conference and all condemned Trudeau’s photographs, with May saying she felt “physically ill” when she saw them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2019.

The Canadian Press