Front Burner

Trudeau, blackface and experiencing racism in Canada

Today on Front Burner, we talk to the National Observer’s Fatima Syed and Dr. Ritika Goel about Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal, and why for so many Canadians of colour, it’s a familiar sort of racism.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau addresses media in Winnipeg on Thursday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

In less than 24 hours, three incidents of Justin Trudeau in blackface have been made public. The photos and video have raised questions about the Liberal leader, given how much of his political brand has been defined by progressive positions on race, inclusion and diversity. The scandal has brought Canada's national understanding of race squarely into focus. 

Today, we'll talk to the National Observer's Fatima Syed and Dr. Ritika Goel, about Trudeau's blackface scandal, and what it tells us about Canada's complicated centuries-old struggle with race.

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