Ep. 175: Are Canadians Becoming More Racist?

Guest: Ujjal Dosanjh, former British Columbia Premier

The discussion around race in the United States has turned nasty – build a wall, travel and immigration bans, deportations all aimed at keeping “others” outside of the country.

Internally, tension between black Americans and police continues to escalate with deadly consequences. Latinos and Muslims are subject to one verbal or legal attack after another.

Then came the Charlotteville riots. The “Unite the Right” rally turned violent when a man rammed his car into counter-protesters, leaving one woman dead and dozens injured. A police helicopter monitoring the riot crashed, killing two police officers.

The President of the United States made matters worse when he refused to condemn the violence. The escalation of racial tension lead to white supremacist rallies across North America, including one in Vancouver. It begs the question – are we following the United States and becoming more racist?

Former British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh says no, we are not. He points to the fact that “racism has become Presidential in the U.S., but not Prime Ministerial in Canada.”

We asked Ujjal Dosanjh to join us for a Conversation That Matters about racism in Canada.