In June 2020, Hillier came under fire for appearing to trivialize Minister Ahmed Hussen's experience with racism, when in response to a CTV article where Hussen discussed experiences of prejudice while shopping, Hillier tweeted “A guilty conscience?" The tweet has since been deleted but has been met with sharp criticism online and multiple accusations of racism, including by Andrea Horwath who commented "At a time when Black people are protesting for their lives, you’re denying the reality of Black, Indigenous and racialized people." That same month he took part in a rally protesting COVID-19 lockdown measures in Ontario at Queen's Park, and was later condemned by Premier Doug Ford who described Hillier's participation in the rally as “totally irresponsible” and said it goes against “what everybody has been working for.”