First Nations leaders in B.C. call for Conservatives to drop candidate Aaron Gunn
"I find it extremely troubling that a candidate for any party could make such blatantly racist comments," said Bob (Galagame) Chamberlin, who served as UBCIC vice-president for 10 years and as elected chief of Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation for 14 years.
Aaron Gunn made posts on X between 2019 and 2021 denying that Indigenous people faced a genocide in Canada and that "residential schools were asked for by Indigenous bands."
Gunn is now running as the Conservative Party candidate for North Island-Powell River.
A post from Gunn on X from October 2020 reads "There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book. The Holocaust was a genocide. Get off Twitter and learn more about the world."
More than 150,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential school system "cultural genocide" in its final report released in 2015.
The House of Commons unanimously passed a motion in 2022 recognizing Canada's residential schools as genocide. The motion was passed after Pope Francis described residential schools as genocide after his visit to Canada in July 2022.
Chamberlin said these comments show a "denial of residential school impacts" and Gunn "obviously can never represent the interests of First Nations people in this riding."
Terry Teegee, B.C. regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, said the Conservative Party should take a closer look at its candidates and consider dropping Gunn.
"Mr. Gunn certainly hasn't read up on the term that is genocide," he said.
"It's really concerning that perhaps the Conservatives can't work with First Nations peoples across this country, especially with a party that supports an individual of this type of view."
A post on X from June 2021 reads "Residential schools were asked for by Indigenous bands in Eastern Ontario when John A. Macdonald was still a teenager, but hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good headline."
UBCIC Grand Chief Stewart Phillip called the posts "absolutely reprehensible and repugnant and completely devoid of any sense of compassion for Indigenous Peoples who suffered enormously through the residential school experience."
"I don't think this man is fit for public office, whether it be federal or provincial or any office that allows him to continue to make these horrible statements," he said.
Chamberlin said that Gunn's social media posts constitute residential school denialism.
"My fear is if candidates like Aaron Gunn become successful and are elected, that is the conversations that will continue to drive the oppression of First Nations people," said Chamberlin.
Conservative Party responds
CBC News made several attempts to reach Gunn for comment but did not hear back by time of publishing.
In a statement, a campaign spokesperson for the Conservative Party said "Aaron Gunn has been clear in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false."
The statement points to comments made by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to the Assembly of First Nations last July, in which he acknowledged the suffering caused by residential schools, calling it a "monstrous abuse of excessive governmental power."
In the speech, Poilievre said there was more work to be done and "I know that Canada has no future without a strong future for the First Nations people."
In the statement, the spokesperson said "Mr. Gunn, along with great candidates such as former Haisla Chief Ellis Ross, is looking forward to repealing the Liberals radical anti-resource laws to quickly green-light good projects so First Nations and all Canadians bring home more powerful paycheques."
NDP candidate for North Island-Powell River Tanille Johnston said in a statement to CBC News, "It's horrific to see the Conservatives run a candidate that carries such divisive and harmful beliefs."
"I believe that the Conservatives should explain why they feel this type of candidate is best suited for not only our riding of North Island-Powell River, but for our federal government."
The Conservative Party has dropped four candidates this week, three of them for controversial comments.
The Liberal Party of B.C. rejected Gunn's application to run for its leadership in 2021 after a review of comments attributed to Gunn on social media.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
20 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. Premier David Eby completes transition from LNG doubter with victory tour of Kitimat plant
VICTORIA — When David Eby goes all in on something, he does not fool around. Witness the premier's presence in Kitimat this week to celebrate completion of the LNG Canada project. 'I am so excited about this project and what it means for Canada, what it means for B.C.,' the former LNG skeptic declared from the public platform on Thursday. 'To be standing here, the proud leader of a province, of a government, that supported the workers in delivering the largest private sector investment in Canadian history — I want to congratulate all the workers and the company on this momentous occasion.' The premier rattled off the reasons for his conversion on the road, to, er Kitimat — including Indigenous partnership and weaning Canada off exclusive dependence on the U.S. for natural gas exports. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'The thing that I really like about the LNG Canada project is not just that it gets us to diverse markets, not just that it provides jobs and employment for British Columbians and for Canadians, but that we're doing it in a way that gets our resources to market that is responsible.' What about the Green party accusation that the New Democrats are 'greenwashing' fossil fuels with their support for LNG. 'Everybody knows that we have to transition away from fossil fuels, but, in the meantime, we should be using the lowest-carbon fossil fuels possible,' said Eby. 'The LNG that comes from this site is 60 per cent lower carbon than the average LNG plant in the world. It is 40 per cent better in terms of carbon content than the best plants in the world. 'When we're shipping to Japan, to Korea, to Malaysia, to China, it means that these countries are able to meaningfully reduce their carbon pollution and their carbon footprint.' Eby sketched the hypothetical scenario if his government had given in to the critics (some of them New Democrats) and cancelled the project. 'We could leave Japan and Korea and Malaysia to rely on imports from Qatar, or from the U.S.,' said the premier. 'It would require longer journeys by ship, resulting in more marine emissions. It would be higher-carbon LNG, resulting in more carbon pollution. And then here at home in Canada, we would have fewer jobs, less resources for public services. 'Japan, Malaysia, Korea, China are not eliminating fossil fuels overnight. If they are using LNG, they should be using the lowest-carbon LNG in the world. They should be using Canadian LNG that's produced ethically, that promotes environmental protection, as well as high quality labour standards and safety standards.' Eby's enthusiasm extended to the proposal to double the capacity of the Kitimat liquefacton plant, now awaiting a final investment decision by Shell and its partners in LNG Canada. 'I'm very much looking forward to be able to come back here to make the announcement about LNG Canada Phase 2,' the premier said Thursday. The province and the federal government are engaged in 'active conversations' with the LNG Canada partners on what it will take to secure a final investment decision. LNG Canada CEO Chris Cooper, who joined Eby on the platform, said the priority 'right now is to make sure that we get Phase 1 started up.' The terminal appeared to be in the shakedown phase as of this week. One LNG tanker was diverted away from the facility without loading according to the Reuters news agency. 'The facility has experienced technical issues with a gas turbine and a refrigerant production unit,' two sources told Reuters. An LNG Canada spokesperson, said 'a new facility of this size and scale may face operational setbacks as it ramps up.' Once the startup is complete, CEO Cooper said the goal will be 'finding the right balance between affordability, competitiveness, the environment, and just bringing those things together.' Eby says 'the company wants, understandably, certainty from us about government policies that could impact the performance of the project. And, in my opinion, the conversations are going well. 'We're hopeful that we'll be able to get to a final investment decision that benefits everyone just like we did on Phase 1 — an incredibly proud accomplishment of Premier Horgan and of our government. The largest private sector investment in Canadian history.' The John Horgan NDP government did indeed put together the tax and regulatory relief that led Shell and its partners to proceed with Phase 1. But I was struck this week by the gracious acknowledgement of the NDP accomplishment from former Premier Christy Clark, who got the ball rolling on LNG development in B.C. 'I'm absolutely thrilled,' she told the CBC's Gloria Macarenko when asked about Eby's all-in endorsement of LNG. 'Good for him. It takes a big person to change their mind and he's done it. 'There's no moment when this would be more important than right now,' Clark continued. 'It shows unity in this province.' The Greens are still there, seething on the sidelines. But the parties that governed B.C. from the 1990s to the 2020s pretty much agree on LNG now, never mind how deeply they disagreed on other issues. vpalmer@
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Poilievre slams Carney's plan to recognize Palestinian state
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Carney's plan to recognize a Palestinian state 'rewards' Hamas. Power & Politics hears from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong on his party's concerns.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Liberals shrink fundraising gap with Conservatives to closest since Poilievre became Tory leader
OTTAWA — New fundraising figures show the Liberal Party of Canada has shrunk its fundraising gap with the Conservative Party of Canada, lagging by just $1.4 million in the last quarter. That's the closest the two parties have been since Pierre Poilievre became Conservative leader. Article content Second-quarter fundraising reports filed with Elections Canada show Poilievre's Conservatives raked in $9 million, while Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals raised $7.6 million during the same period. The period, from April to June, includes most of the federal election campaign that ran from March 23 to April 28, with the Liberals eventually winning a minority government. Article content Article content Article content 'Grassroots Liberals' record-breaking support this year helped deliver our largest vote share since 1980 in the last election, with Mark Carney and our new Liberal government earning a strong mandate to unite, secure, protect, and build our country,' wrote Liberal party spokesman Matteo Rossi. Article content Article content 'The Liberal Party of Canada is in one of the strongest positions for fundraising and grassroots organizing in the party's history, achieving our best-ever first and second quarters for fundraising this year, with more donors chipping in Q1 alone than in any single year in our history.' Article content The gap of $1.4 million is the closest the Liberals have been to their Conservative rivals since September 2022, when Poilievre became Conservative leader. Fundraising reports back then show the Conservatives had brought in around $730,000 more in contributions than the Liberals for the quarter. Article content Article content The gap quickly widened, with the Conservatives out-fundraising all other federal parties by millions, particularly throughout 2024, where the party celebrated smashing the previous fundraising records for all political parties by raking in a total of $41.7 million, up from the $35.2 million it raised during Poilievre's first full year as leader. Article content Article content For the first three months of 2025, the Tories raked in $28 million from roughly 149,000 donors. The Liberals, by comparison, raised around $13 million during the first quarter from around 156,000 donors. Article content The latest second-quarter fundraising data show the Liberals continued to see an uptick in individual donors contributing to the party. Article content Figures posted for June 2025 show the Liberals had around 116,000 donors, while the Tories received donations from roughly 83,000 donors. Article content That represents a massive spike for the Liberals, who closed the fourth quarter of 2024 with around 34,000 donors contributing to it during that period, while the Conservatives saw roughly 62,000 donors send money into its coffers.
