CALGARY—Mayor Naheed Nenshi said that for him and other people of colour, images of federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in blackface and brownface are a reminder “in the worst possible way” that people in Canada still have more to learn about racism.

“It really makes you start to think, ‘When is this ever going to end?’” the mayor said Thursday, speaking to reporters the morning after several photos and a video of Trudeau in racist makeup were revealed.

“You work so hard, you go to school, you know you have to be just a bit better than the next person because you have to prove a little bit more. You succeed, you go on in your career, maybe even become the mayor. And then you’re reminded in the worst possible way that people you respect, people you admire, people who are allies in the battle with you still need a little bit of education.”

Nenshi called the photos “a sucker punch,” adding that young people of colour in Canada might see them and wonder whether “the story of the country I grew up in is a lie.”

Trudeau apologized for the photos, including one from a high school talent show and one from a 2001 “Arabian Nights”-themed party when he was a teacher, saying he didn’t think his actions were racist at the time, but he now realizes they were.

Nenshi said he and Trudeau are the same age, and he thinks the Liberal leader and those around him should have known Trudeau’s costume was wrong in 2001. But while the actions are “stupid,” Nenshi said he doesn’t think Trudeau realized his actions were racist and decided to go ahead anyway.

The mayor said awareness about casual racism has changed over the last two decades, but it still exists.

“We have to be able to say, ‘Yes, casual racism is bad.’ We have to fight against it. But you know, people who look like me, every day of your life you encounter it. And you just learn how to deal with it.”

“Every person of colour has jokes” they use to defend themselves, Nenshi said. “We have ways of sloughing this off and saying, ‘Yeah, it’s not a big deal.’”

It’s important to address how those actions are harmful, the mayor said, but during this federal election, he worries about what he called “backsliding” in the last 18 months.

When Nenshi was elected in 2010, he became the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city. That attracted a lot of media attention at the time, and the mayor said he took those opportunities to talk about Calgary on a bigger platform.

In the city’s most recent 2017 municipal elections, Nenshi said he saw “racism” and “nastiness” come his way that he hadn’t experienced in his past two campaigns.

“What bothers me is we have not made the space in this country to have a real conversation about what is happening in terms of our diverse, pluralistic ideal in this nation,” he said.

This isn’t the first time the Calgary mayor has called out federal politicians during an election campaign. Nenshi took a vocal stance against the Conservatives’ proposed niqab ban in 2015, and this year he has condemned Quebec’s Bill 21, which forbids people in public service jobs from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs and turbans.

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“None of our political leaders have the courage to speak out against Bill 21 in Quebec in a very serious way. They lack the courage because the bill is too popular and they’re worried about losing votes,” Nenshi said.

“So let’s ask ourselves the true question: Why is it so popular? And how do we take responsibility for that by making sure that we, those of us who aspire to lead, are leading in a way that enhances the dignity of everyone here?”

Nenshi added he wants to see this moment in the election become an opportunity to have a more direct conversation about what kind of country Canadians want.

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