Justin Trudeau and the History of Blackface, Racism in Canada

Canada has long been considered our more tolerant and progressive neighbor to the north. While that hasn’t always been entirely true, it’s nevertheless a narrative that has persisted through the years.

All of that began to unravel last week when Time Magazine published a photo of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in brownface at an Arabian Nights-themed party in 2001. Since then, similar images have surfaced.

Trudeau has apologized twice since the photo surfaced, but not everyone is buying it. The incident is also the latest piece in Canada’s long but little-known history of slavery, blackface and racism. Detroit Today’s Stephen Henderson first speaks with David A. Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, who recently wrote a piece unpacking Canada’s history of racial oppression and exploitation. “Critics say this shows what a hypocrite Trudeau is,” says Graham. To provide some historical context on Canada’s history, Graham adds that “there was about 200 years of slavery in Canada and then after abolition, Canada became a destination for people on the underground railroad.” Since Canada ended slavery earlier than the United States, there is often a misconception that they never had it all. 

In the second half of the conversation, Henderson speaks with Reem Bahdi, Associate Professor at the University of Windsor Law. Bahdi recently wrote a piece for The Conversation in which she details why Trudeau’s apology was insufficient and how his policies have continued to “invoke anti-Arab stereotypes.” Bahdi says “the apologies are inadequate because they don’t fully appreciate or express how problematic these behaviors were.”

Click the audio player to hear Stephen’s conversation with David A. Graham and Reem Bahdi.