Justin Trudeau, Other Canadian Leaders Condemn White Supremacy After Trump-Biden Debate
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian leaders did not hesitate to condemn white supremacy following U.S. President Donald Trump’s performance during Tuesday’s debate, where the president danced around disavowing supremacists and even told far right group the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”
“The Prime Minister has condemned and will continue to condemn right-wing extremism, white supremacy and racism in all its forms,” a statement from Trudeau’s office sent to CTV News on Wednesday read. “In Canada, we’re not immune to extremism that not only divides our communities, but threatens the safety of Canadians.”
Other representatives of Canada’s political parties — including Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, Interim Green Party Leader Jo-Ann Roberts, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet — made similar statements.
Roberts notably pointed out that the Proud Boys had roots in Canada, and on Twitter wrote that the country was “far from immune to hate.” Political consultant Gerald Butts, who worked for Trudeau from 2015 to 2019, also tweeted that the group had “Canadian roots and many Canadian branches.”
I unequivocally condemn white supremacy & hate groups like the Proud Boys.
We must remember that this is not just a US problem. This org has roots in Canada, & we are far from immune to hate.
We must urgently examine & combat the rise of violent hate groups w/in our borders.— Jo-Ann Roberts, Green Party Interim Leader 🌱 (@JoAnnRobertsHFX) September 30, 2020
Canadian roots and many Canadian branches. https://t.co/DmG0UNpiTU
— Gerald Butts 🇨🇦 😷🖐🧼🤚 (@gmbutts) September 30, 2020
The Proud Boys, classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was founded in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who is British-Canadian. McInnes, who left Vice in 2008 and now resides in the U.S., built the Proud Boys under the concept that white men and Western...
