Trudeau’s support holds after apology for wearing brownface

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that he let down his supporters — and all Canadians of color — by appearing years ago in brownface and blackface. Yet the scandal’s fallout may be limited in a country without the harsh and still-divisive racial history of the neighboring United States.

“I hurt people who in many cases consider me an ally,” Trudeau told a news conference Friday. “I let a lot of people down.”

Trudeau, 47, is seeking a second term as prime minister in an Oct. 21 election. His leading opponent, Andrew Scheer of the Conservative Party, has assailed him as “not fit to govern” because of the revelations. But key figures in the prime minister’s Liberal Party have stuck by him, including Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who would be a favorite to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader if he lost the election.

Many minority Canadians, increasingly active in politics and government, seem ready to forgive Trudeau.