Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn to stay in the race in B.C.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is sticking with B.C. candidate Aaron Gunn despite demands from a number of First Nations leaders to take him off the ballot. Gunn is running in the riding of North Island-Powell River. For more than a week, several current and former elected leaders have been calling for Gunn’s removal as a candidate because of his views on residential schools. Gunn acknowledges “the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false,” but he disputes whether Canada committed genocide. During the residential school years, 150,000 Indigenous children were sent to institutions run mainly by churches but funded by the federal government. Many were cut off from their culture – and thousands suffered abuse. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called the residential school system “cultural genocide.” In a post on the social media platform X, Gunn said “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.” Because of that, dozens of mayors, councilors, Indigenous leaders and other community leaders signed the letter asking for his removal. These are in addition to Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and The First Nations Leadership Council also calling for Gunn’s removal last week. Gunn’s campaign has countered with a list of its own with leaders who support the candidate. On Monday, an email from “Team Aaron Gunn” sent “an official statement signed by elected officials across North Island-Powell River.” “The public deserves the truth,” the letter begins. “Aaron Gunn has been a tireless advocate for taxpayers, a firm supporter of our resource sector, and a nationally-renowned filmmaker on important issues such as public safety and the addictions crisis.” The letter goes on to say “the false accusations of residential school denialism have been particularly egregious.” “Aaron’s only contention, that residential schools did not meet the threshold of “genocide,” and that Canada is not a “genocidal state” is hardly unreasonable and certainly not disqualifying from representing our incredible region,” the letter concludes. It has been signed by nine different leaders from Gunn’s riding, including Mayor Kermit Dahl of Campbell River, where Gunn is from, and two Conservative MLA’s, Brennan Day for Courtenay-Comox, and Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island. The letter was sent from Kindy’s office on official government letterhead. APTN News reached out to Kindy and Dahl for comment, but neither office returned our inquiries. Criticism of Gunn’s statements continues to circulate on X and other social media platforms. A few days after Gunn’s controversial 2022 tweet on residential schools resurfaced last week, campaign officials issued a statement attributed to Gunn. The statement was in an email April 2, and says that Gunn has been “clear in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false.” This same statement was issued to the online news outlet True North magazine in 2024 in response to NDP leader, Jagmet Singh calling out Gunn for residential school denialism. “Once again, Jagmeet Singh is fabricating stories and trying to distract Canadians from his own track record of abandoning hard-working Canadians and propping up a Liberal government that has continued to leave First Nations on the sidelines,” the spokesperson told True North in July, 2024, and made the now familiar statement “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.” Gunn’s 2022 tweet remains on the social media platform X and has been shared widely. 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. https://t.co/YFp76pe4LF — Aaron Gunn (@AaronGunn) October 22, 2020 April 7 was the deadline for nominations of candidates. A complete list of candidates will be available Wednesday, April 9. Tags: Aaron Gunn, candidates, Conservative Party, denialism, Federal election 2025, FNLC, Jagmeet Singh, North Island-Powell River, Pierre Poilievre, Residential Schools, UBCIC Continue Reading