In a historic move, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated the first judge of colour to sit on the country's supreme court. Canada's top court has only had white justices in its 146-year existence.
Trudeau has nominated Mahmud Jamal, who has been a judge on Ontario’s court of appeal since 2019 and will replace Justice Rosalie Abella. Trained as a lawyer, he appeared in 35 appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada on civil, constitutional, criminal, and regulatory issues.
Jamal was born in 1967 into an Indian family in Nairobi and raised in Britain before moving to Canada in 1981.
In a tweet, Trudeau said, “He’ll be a valuable asset to the supreme court - and that’s why, today, I’m announcing his historic nomination to our country’s highest court”.