Poilievre Stands by Candidate Criticized for Residential School Comments
- Kevin Grandia
- Apr 14
- 1 min read
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is standing by a B.C. candidate who has been criticized for past social media posts about Canada’s residential school system. Aaron Gunn, running in the North Island–Powell River riding, has posted comments in the past saying the residential school system did not constitute genocide.
Several First Nations organizations and leaders have called for Gunn to be removed as a candidate. This includes the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council. They pointed to Gunn’s posts from 2019 and 2021 that described the schools as “much-maligned” and claimed some Indigenous communities had requested them.
In one post, Gunn said residential schools were asked for by some Indigenous bands, dating back to when John A. Macdonald was a teenager. In another, he questioned how the term “genocide” has been used.
These comments have been widely rejected by Indigenous leaders. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that residential schools were part of a government policy to erase Indigenous cultures and languages. The commission described this as cultural genocide.
In 2022, the House of Commons passed a motion recognizing Canada’s residential school system as genocide. That motion came after Pope Francis used the same term during a visit to Canada.
Other federal leaders have responded. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Gunn’s comments were “heinous” and “hurtful.” He called for the Conservatives to drop Gunn as a candidate.
Poilievre has not done that.
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