On Wednesday, Judy Sgro, Liberal MP for Humber River—Black Creek, will announce new federal funding at the Black Creek Community Health Centre on behalf of Innovation Minister Evan Solomon. 

The funding is meant to “enhance programming and support” for black-owned businesses in Toronto.

But Sgro is infamous in the same community for her defence of prime minister Justin Trudeau after photos of him in racist blackface costumes exploded in 2019. 

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During a radio interview, Sgro claimed that “those in the black community have told of how much more love they have for the prime minister. That he wanted to have a blackface.”

The backlash was swift. 

Local activist Butterfly Gopaul told Toronto.com the remarks were proof of how poorly the community was being represented, while Neethan Shan of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations said he was “disgusted” and “appalled.” 

Sgro later walked back her comments, admitting they were “insensitive” but, as Liberals tend to do, she never resigned.

Now, six years later, the Liberals are putting her forward as the face of their black entrepreneurship program.