Photo emerges showing Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing brownface to an ‘Arabian Nights’ gala event in 2001 when he was a private school teacher
- Photo of Justin Trudeau wearing brownface in 2001 emerged on Wednesday
- The picture, obtained by TIME, shows a then 29-year-old Trudeau wearing brown paint on his face, neck and hands while wearing a turban and robe
- Trudeau was attending an ‘Arabian Nights’ themed gala at West Point Grey Academy, which is the private school in Vancouver where he taught at the time
- The photo appears in the West Point Grey Academy 2001 yearbook
- The Liberal Party of Canada confirmed on Wednesday that Trudeau, who is the leader of their political party, was in the photo
A photo has emerged showing Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing brownface to a party 18 years ago when he was a private school teacher.
The picture, obtained by TIME, shows a then 29-year-old Trudeau wearing brown paint on his face, neck and hands while wearing a turban and robe.
Trudeau was attending an ‘Arabian Nights’ themed gala at West Point Grey Academy, which is the private school in Vancouver where he taught at the time.
The photo appears in the West Point Grey Academy 2001 yearbook.
The Liberal Party of Canada confirmed on Wednesday that Trudeau, who is the leader of their political party, was in the photo.
‘It was a photo taken while he was teaching in Vancouver, at the school’s annual dinner which had a costume theme of ‘Arabian Nights’,’ the party’s media relations lead said.
‘He attended with friends and colleagues dressed as a character from Aladdin.’
Trudeau is expected to publicly address the issue of the photo himself.
He worked at the private school before entering politics and at the same time his father Pierre Trudeau was Canada’s Prime Minister.
The Liberal Party of Canada confirmed on Wednesday that Trudeau, who is the leader of their political party, was in the photo. He is pictured above on Wednesday during an election campaign event in Moncton, New Brunswick
The photo emerged publicly for the first time on Wednesday after a tip from a Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson who was said to be part of the West Point Grey Academy community.
Adamson didn’t attend the party but came across the photo in the yearbook in July and believed it should be made public.
The photo emerged a month before Canada’s general election scheduled for October 21.
Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, is facing a tough re-election battle against the main opposition Conservatives led by Andrew Scheer.
He has already been dealing with criticism regarding a long-running scandal involving allegations he tried to influence his former justice minister’s handling of a corporate corruption case.