Already politically weakened, Justin Trudeau's Canadian government must face a new scandal. After several days of controversy, the Minister of Employment, Randy Boissonnault, left his post, accused of having wrongly claimed to have indigenous roots.
According to a concise press release from the Prime Minister's office, published Wednesday, November 20, Randy Boissonnault “withdraws from government with immediate effect (…) to focus on dispelling the allegations against him.”
This announcement marks a complete turnaround on the part of Mr. Trudeau, who had initially defended Mr. Boissonnault against the opposition, which accused him of having falsely claimed indigenous roots for personal benefit.
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The situation is all the more embarrassing for Justin Trudeau, recently abandoned by his left-wing ally in Parliament, as he made the issue of ties with First Nations one of the priorities of his mandate.
The opposition well ahead in the polls
In power for nine years, Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party has suffered political setbacks since this summer and all polls give Pierre Poilievre's conservative opposition a 20-point lead, while elections must be held between now and the end of October 2025.
Randy Boissonnault was under fire from criticism since the publication of an article in National Post who revealed that the company Global Health Imports which he co-owns responded to a public tender in 2020 claiming to be an indigenous company. He explained in 2018 that his great-grandmother was a « femme [de la nation crie] pure strain »a statement he repeated on several occasions. On Friday, he apologized for creating confusion about his lineage, saying he never claimed to be indigenous.
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In Canada, belonging to an indigenous group allows access to certain assistance. In addition, the Trudeau government has set itself the objective of annually awarding at least 5% of the total value of all public contracts to Indigenous businesses.
