If a comedian doesn't make jokes about politicans are they even comedians? Probably not. But if somebody is going to make a joke about something, at least make sure it's accurate. Conan O'Brien's Justin Trudeau joke goes after the Prime Minister for the brownface scandal but he's not completely right. The comedian took to Twitter on October 17 and tweeted a ruthless jab at Trudeau in regards to the brownface and blackface scandals by talking about Halloween. But the part of the tweet about how Canada's elections work is wrong. O'Brien tweeted that "it's smart of Trudeau to hold the election before Halloween" referencing the two of the three times Trudeau dressed in brownface and blackface as part of costumes. It's smart of Trudeau to hold the election before Halloween, I mean why even tempt yourself?— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) October 17, 2019 There was a mixed reaction to O'Brien's tweet about Trudeau with some jumping on board to further the joke while others took Trudeau's side. One person replied to O'Brien and said "stay in your lane... South of the border." Someone else said that Trudeau made Canada the "laughing stock" of the world by wearing brownface and blackface and even went as far as to say "I’m ashamed to call you our Prime Minister." I keep trying to explain why this is funny to my husband, but I guess he is just too pure of heart to get it. #TheresStillGoodInTheWorld— Amanda Kint (@TheAmandaKint) October 18, 2019 He had his routine & costume all planned out...#HarryBelafonte pic.twitter.com/iiF96wz6yc— 🇨🇦MR. Michael (@michael_house9) October 18, 2019 Stay in your lane... South of the border. You have enough with your own Supreme Leader.— Marc Allard (@ottawamarc) October 17, 2019 Congrats @JustinTrudeau @gmbutts @telfordk @RobSilver You’ve made 🇨🇦 the laughing stock of the 🌎 I’m ashamed to call you our Prime Minister. You have divided the country and made it worse than when you started. As a usually proud 🇨🇦, It just makes me sad.— Don (@donwonkins) October 18, 2019 pic.twitter.com/XEjsLs2DXg— Johny Michael Smith (@techANALyzer69) October 18, 2019 He's still one of the best...I thank my lucky stars every day that I was born north of the border. Sorry my American friends, but your country has gone off the rails :(— Daniella Veronica❣️🐘 (@AlwaysRidePine) October 18, 2019 Finally a good twitter joke from you— thatsmydog🦴 (@leodilly1) October 17, 2019 While it's obviously meant to be a joke and unclear if O'Brien was being serious thinking Trudeau can control when election day is, that's just not the case in Canada unless there's a special circumstance. Back in 2006, Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act, was introduced. The bill aimed to make changes to the Canada Elections Act by brining in fixed federal election dates in Canada. So that means unless Parliament is dissolved early for some reason, a general election at the federal level has to be held on the third Monday in October four years after the polling day for the last election. The bill received Royal Assent in 2007 and the first fixed election day was Monday, October 19, 2009. O'Brien's tweet was probably a joke and nothing more but it's still a bit misleading for people who don't know that Canada's election day is a fixed date. This was even pointed out a few times to O'Brien on Twitter and in a Reddit thread. O'Brien's tweet was posted in a Quebec subreddit and, translated from French, one person said, "touche. But hey, fixed date elections." Another user responded, "you must be fun at parties" seemingly thinking the person missed the joke. https://www.reddit.com/r/Quebec/comments/djljtn/conan_obrien_its_smart_of_trudeau_to_hold_the/f46detm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/Quebec https://www.reddit.com/r/Quebec/comments/djljtn/conan_obrien_its_smart_of_trudeau_to_hold_the/f46eze1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x from https://www.reddit.com/r/Quebec Though O'Brien isn't the first comedian to take shots at Trudeau for his brownface and blackface scandal his joke has certainly garnered a lot of mixed response. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
