With much of the U.S. still stunned by the violence at a white supremacist rally in Virginia that left one woman dead, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reminding Canadians that our country is not immune to racism.
We know Canada isn't immune to racist violence & hate. We condemn it in all its forms & send support to the victims in Charlottesville.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 13, 2017
In a tweet Sunday afternoon, the prime minister condemned the violence in Charlottesville and offered Canada’s support.
“We know Canada isn't immune to racist violence & hate. We condemn it in all its forms & send support to the victims in Charlottesville,” he wrote.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also decried the violence south of the border, saying, “Hate knows no borders and we must stand on guard against its spread.”
Neo-Nazis and white supremacists don't belong in the streets. Hate knows no borders and we must stand on guard against its spread.
— Kathleen Wynne (@Kathleen_Wynne) August 13, 2017
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley called the events in Charlottesville “despicable” and said she was proud of Albertans who work to end racism.
Events in #Charlottesville are despicable. So proud of Albertans working to end racism every day. We will win this fight #ableg
— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) August 13, 2017
Charlottesville descended into violence Saturday, when neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and other white nationalists gathered to "take America back," and clashed with others who came to protest the rally.
The violence culminated when a man allegedly plowed his car into the group of counter-protesters, killing one woman and wounding 19 others. The suspect, a 20-year-old Ohio man with a history of interested in Nazism, has been charged with second-degree murder and several other charges.
Two Virginia police troopers who had been deployed to respond to the violence were also killed when the helicopter they were riding in crashed into a forest.
A group in Toronto is planning to protest the weekend violence with a rally outside the U.S. consulate.
The group, calling itself “Toronto in Solidarity with Charlottesville” said in a Facebook post they plan to gather peacefully Monday morning “to oppose violent right-wing bigotry in the U.S. and support victims and survivors of the recent violence in Charlottesville.”