Jason Kenney Deletes Tweet Praising Refugee's 'Perfect, Unaccented English' | HuffPost

This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

One Twitter user asked, "So, anyone with an accent isn't a real Canadian?"

Andree Lau— The Huffington Post Canada

|

For the second time in less than a week, Canada's incumbent multiculturalism minister is raising eyebrows for his comments.

Jason Kenney, who is running for re-election in Calgary, tweeted a photo Monday of himself with Xavier, an 11-year-old Iraqi refugee who arrived in Canada via Syria last year.

Kenney noted that the boy "already speaks perfect, unaccented English."

One Twitter user quickly asked Kenney, "So, anyone with an accent isn't a real Canadian?"

The Conservative responded in a series of tweets, "Of course not. I have a serious accent when I speak French! I simply found it remarkable that a youngster who did not speak a word of English a year ago has learned so quickly that he sounds like he grew up in Canada."

Kenney called his remark a "harmless observation" but he explained that he has now deleted the tweet to shield the boy from "any controversy."

Naturally, Twitter users jumped on the remark about "perfect, unaccented English."

The tweet was part of a series of posts where Kenney introduced some refugees he met at an event Monday, including an Iraqi family who landed in Canada in March and received refugee status in July "thanks to our reform of the asylum system," wrote the Tory.

On Thursday, Kenney sparked the Twitter hashtag #PeopleLikeNenshi when he took offence at Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi's criticism of the Conservative Party's stance that the niqab, a face covering, should not be worn at citizenship ceremonies.

Kenney dismissed the critique as just "the mayor and people like him who are politicizing the issue."

Some people accused the Tory of racism, but Kenney later clarified that he was referring to "politically correct liberals."

Nenshi also told reporters that he didn't think Kenney meant anything offensive.

“Jason’s a friend of mine. Really what was happening is we were making fun of him for kind of careless language, which really, as a minister, you should be better than that. But it wasn’t because he was being racist. I happen to very much disagree with this policy," said the mayor, reported 660 News.

Like Us On Facebook

Related on HuffPost:

Social Media Mishaps In The 2015 Canadian Election

Alex Johnstone (NDP)(01 of20)

Alex Johnstone, who is running in the Ontario riding of Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, made a crude reference in a 2008 Facebook comment related to Auschwitz. A public school trustee, she defended herself by saying she didn't know anything about the Nazi death camp. (credit:Facebook)

Joy Davies (Liberal)(02 of20)

Joy Davies resigned as the Liberal candidate in the B.C. riding of South Surrey–White Rock after telling The Huffington Post Canada it is safe for pregnant women to smoke pot and that it might make their kids smarter."Ms. Davies' views in no way reflect the values or policies of the Liberal Party of Canada," the party said. (credit:Joy Davies/Facebook)

Cheryl Thomas (Liberal)(03 of20)

The Liberal candidate in Victoria resigned after comments she made about mosques and Israel were discovered by a satirical news website.In 2013, Thomas wrote on Facebook that mosques were once education centres but were now used "as brainwashing stations." (credit:Handout)

Maria Manna (Liberal)(04 of20)

Maria Manna stepped down as the candidate in the B.C. riding of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford after she questioned the official account of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on her Facebook page, reported CBC News. (credit:Facebook)

Béatrice Zako (NDP)(05 of20)

The Montreal NDP candidate selected to go head-to-head against Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in the Papineau riding resigned after it was revealed that she used to be a member of the provincial separatist party Option nationale. She also spoke passionately about her desire for Quebec to achieve independence. (credit:Facebook)

Stefan Jonasson (NDP)(06 of20)

Stefan Jonasson, a Unitarian minister, dropped out as the NDP candidate in the riding of Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingly after it emerged that he compared the actions of an Orthodox Jewish group to the Taliban on social media. (credit:Facebook)

VirJiny Provos (Bloc Quebecois)(07 of20)

VirJiny Provost, a young Bloc Quebecois candidate in Megantic-L'Erable, embarrassed her party after a survey she answered came to light. Asked what she would need in the event of a nuclear attack, Provost wrote she'd bring "her cellphone, a penis and chips.''

Sue MacDonell (Conservative)(08 of20)

Sue MacDonell, a board member for the Conservatives' Bay of Quinte Electoral District Association, was fired after she posted on Facebook that a Cree woman recently crowned Mrs. Universe was a monster and a "smug entitled Liberal pet."

Wiliam Moughrabi (Conservative)(09 of20)

Conservative candidate Wiliam Moughrabi in the Montreal riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville had to erase online comments that were deemed violent and misogynist in nature. He did not step down.

Jerry Bance (Conservative)(10 of20)

The ex-Conservative candidate made a splash in headlines on Sept. 6 after footage of Bance peeing into a mug then emptying it into a sink resurfaced. The clip aired in a 2012 episode of CBC's Marketplace. Bance told HuffPost Canada, "I had a health situation and needed to make an emergency decision, ironically to save myself from embarrassment back then." (credit:Facebook)

Tim Dutaud (Conservative)(11 of20)

The Conservative candidate in Toronto-Danforth was booted from the party on Sept. 7 after a series of YouTube pranks surfaced showing Dutaud faking a mental illness and pretending to orgasm during what appeared to be a customer service call. (credit:Twitter)

Christopher Brown (Liberal)(12 of20)

Christopher Brown, a Liberal candidate in Peace River-Westlock in Alberta, apologized for tweets in 2009 that used profane language and included derogatory references to women. Brown said he had become an alcoholic at the time after his partner died in a car crash involving a drunk driver. Party Leader Justin Trudeau said he accepted Brown's apology.

Ala Buzreba (Liberal)(13 of20)

The Liberal candidate in the Calgary-Nose Hill riding in Alberta stepped down after offensive tweets she posted as a teenager surfaced. Ala Buzreba had earlier apologized for her tweets and blamed youthful ignorance for her social media faux pas. (credit:Facebook)

Shawn Dearn (NDP)(14 of20)

Shawn Dearn, the communications director for NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, apologized after two-year-old tweets surfaced in which he used an expletive in reference to Pope Benedict. Mulcair decided to keep Dearn on his team.

Francine Crevier Bélair (Liberal)(15 of20)

The Liberal candidate in Pierre-Boucher-Les-Patriotes-Verchères a resigned after she was barred from running municipally due to an outstanding loan. (credit:Facebook)

Morgan Wheeldon (NDP)(16 of20)

The NDP candidate's controversial comments about Israel and Canada were featured on a Conservative attack website. Morgan Wheeldon handed in his resignation as the candidate for Kings-Hants in Nova Scotia after the party asked him to resign or be fired. (credit:Facebook)

Buddy Ford (Conservative)(17 of20)

The Conservative candidate in Repentigny, Quebec was dropped from the slate after it was discovered that he pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in 2011, according to La Presse. (credit:Facebook)

Augustin Ali Kitoko (Conservative)(18 of20)

The Conservative candidate in Hochelaga, Quebec was dropped after the Journal de Montréal revealed that he was had been promoting the NDP on his Facebook page in the last year. (credit:Capture d'écran)

Gilles Guibord (Conservative)(19 of20)

Conservative candidate Gilles Guibord was forced to resign from the race in Montreal's Rosemont_La-Petite-Patrie riding over sexist comments he allegedly made in online comments section of the Journal de Montreal newspaper.

Soheil Eid (Conservative)(20 of20)

Soheil Eid, a Conservative candidate in Joliette, Que., apologized twice for a Facebook post that drew a parallel between the words of Mulcair and comments attributed to Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's infamous propaganda minister.

Suggest a correction

-- This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.

From Our Partner