Justin Trudeau, now the prime minister of Canada, appears in dark makeup on his face, neck and hands at a 2001 “Arabian Nights”-themed party at the West Point Grey Academy. Photo: Time
Thu 19 September 2019:
Trudeau, 47, whose party won a landslide victory in 2015, has already been under attack for an ethics lapse and other controversies.
Time magazine published the photograph one week into a federal election campaign with Trudeau’s Liberal Party in a tight contest against the Conservatives led by Andrew Scheer.
The black-and-white photograph shows Trudeau, then 29, wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck and hands darkened at the gala in 2001.
The picture appears in the 2000-2001 yearbook of West Point Grey Academy, a private school where Trudeau taught at the time, the US-based Time magazine said.
Trudeau confirmed it was him in the photo “at the school’s annual dinner which had a costume theme of ‘Arabian Nights'”
“I have worked all my life to try to create opportunities for people, fight against racism and intolerance,” he told a televised news conference on his campaign aircraft.
“I can say I made a mistake when I was younger and I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had known better then, but I didn’t and I’m deeply sorry for it.”
“Now I recognize it was something racist to do,” he said.
“(For) communities and people who live with intersectionalities and face discrimination, it is a significant thing that is very hurtful.”
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the third-place New Democratic Party, reacted by calling the behavior “troubling” and “insulting.”
“Anytime we hear examples of brown face or blackface, it’s making a mockery of someone for what they live and what their lived experiences are,” he said.
“What does that say about what he thinks about people who, because of who they are, because of the color of their skin, face challenges and barriers and obstacles in their life? Racism is real.”
Trudeau is the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who is considered the father of modern Canada.
The younger Trudeau’s stint as a teacher belonged to a colorful past that also included working as a snowboard instructor, a bartender and a bouncer.
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