[Codes]

Originally Posted by SebC

The quote again:

"It wasn't random," Trudeau says. "I wanted someone who would be a good foil, and we stumbled upon the scrappy tough-guy senator from an indigenous community. He fit the bill, and it was a very nice counterpoint."

A good foil needs to be someone perceived as strong. So perhaps, when he mentioned Brazeau's background, it was to emphasize toughness? Someone from, say, the arthritic senior citizen community, would've been a less effective foil. If this is the case, it's still a generalization, but perhaps a positive one.

It's also possible that he was merely describing Brazeau. Out of the multiple possible effective foils, and indigenous one was what was available.

Or it's possible that he just really wanted to beat up an indigenous man, but that seems to me the least likely.

Regardless, I suspect we'll get some kind of clarification and/or apology soon, because if you leave the door open to something being interpreted as a gaffe... it surely will be.

Totally agree. I just feel it's best left unsaid in this case simply due to the ambiguity of the statement. Obviously I don't believe there was any malicious intent, but politically, it's something for critics to latch onto.