Precipitous Fall In Approval Numbers, Canadian PM Trudeau’s Re-Election In Jeopardy After Blackface Photo Scandal

Hit by a series of revelations about his usage of blackface in his younger years, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election bid appears to be precariously poised with a precipitous drop in approval numbers.

According to the latest poll released by Nanos Research, the incumbent Prime Minister is now trailing behind his Conservative challenger, Andrew Scheer with an estimated 32.9 per cent support while Scheer holds an edge with 35.5 per cent.

More alarmingly for Trudeau, support for his party in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province that holds the key to Trudeau's prospects, dwindled 15 percentage points after the scandal, erasing Trudeau’s former lead.

Trudeau’s campaign suffered a series of setbacks last week after TIME Magazine published a 2001 photograph in which a 29-year-old Trudeau, then a teacher at a prestigious private school in Vancouver, appeared wearing dark makeup dressed as Aladdin for an Arabian Nights-themed gala.

"I shouldn't have done it. I should have known better," Trudeau told reporters apologising for his act.

"It was something that I didn't think was racist at the time, but now I recognise it was something racist to do, and I am deeply sorry," he added.

He then also admitted to wearing make-up while in high school to sing Harry Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)".

Shortly thereafter, a video from the early 1990s emerged in which Trudeau is wearing black makeup on his face and arms, thus shattering his carefully cultivated image as a progressive leader.

A Canadian media outlet Global News published a video showing the now-Liberal leader in blackface raising his hands in the air while laughing and sticking his tongue out. It is unclear where or when it was shot.

In July 2018, an opinion article from 2000 came to light in which a journalist reported that Trudeau, then a 28-year-old teacher, had touched her inappropriately.

Perhaps what had so far most damaged the image of Trudeau, who positioned himself as a feminist and champion of a diverse and inclusive society, was the scandal surrounding his former justice minister and attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould.

With inputs from IANS