Golly! Trudeau faces election-day ridicule
OTTAWA: Another disturbing image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface has emerged on the eve of a national election that will determine whether he remains in power.
The new shot of Mr Trudeau at a 2001 Arabian Nights costume party emerged as Canadians packed into long queues to cast ballots in elections that are headed for a photo finish, with the Liberal PM’s bid for a third term threatened by rookie Conservative leader Erin O’Toole’s strong challenge.
Because the race is so close,
and due to a significant number of mail-in ballots, the final result may not be known until Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
Canada Proud, a grassroots group supporting Mr O’Toole, posted the photo of Mr Trudeau in a turban and sticking his tongue out on Twitter.
“A new photo of Trudeau in blackface has leaked. It’s time to end the international embarrassment. Only Erin O’Toole can stop Justin Trudeau,” the tweet read.
It’s the third time photos of Mr Trudeau, the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, have emerged showing him wearing blackface.
He apologised in 2019 when similar images from the same gala emerged shortly before an election, saying the “buck stops with me and I have a responsibility”.
Mr Trudeau called the latest snap election last month, hoping to parlay a smooth Covid-19 vaccine rollout – among the best in the world – into a new mandate to steer the nation’s pandemic exit, without having to rely on opposition party support to pass his agenda.
But the contest, after a bumpy five weeks of campaigning, appears set for a repeat of the close 2019 general election that resulted in the one-time golden boy of Canadian
politics clinging to power after losing his majority in parliament.
A sudden surge in Covid-19 cases led by the Delta variant late in the campaign has also muddied the waters.
Mr Trudeau said he felt “serene” after casting a ballot in Montreal. “We worked very hard during this campaign, and Canadians are making an important choice,” he said.
However, it has been an uphill battle for him to convince Canadians to stick with his Liberals after falling short of high expectations set in his 2015 landslide win.