Poilievre defends candidate accused of denying residential schools history

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called accusations a party candidate in B.C. has denied the history of residential schools "misleading," and said he stands by his nominee.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is standing by a candidate in British Columbia, even as calls mount among various Indigenous leaders for the nominee to resign, accusing Aaron Gunn of denying the history of residential schools.

“He’s not denied the impact of residential schools, that’s just misinformation,” Poilievre told reporters Saturday when asked about his support for Gunn, the candidate for North Island-Powell River.

“In fact, he has said that he wants to continue to condemn the residential schools and build stronger partnerships with First Nations people to unlock our resources, so that we can produce incredible paycheques and opportunities for First Nations communities right across British Columbia.”

Earlier this week, regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Terry Teegee accused Gunn of making past comments, calling them “reprehensible.”

“The comments are reprehensible, especially to residential school survivors,” Teegee said.

Among those posts referenced included a video posted on social media in which Gunn said Canada’s program of residential schools did not constitute an act of genocide and that the schools are “much-maligned.”

“There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book,” Gunn wrote in 2020.