‘A dumb thing to do’: The many apologies of Justin Trudeau in power

The PM famously apologized, a lot, on behalf of all Canadians for historical wrongs. But he also had regrets for his own personal mistakes

Published Jan 03, 2025  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  6 minute read

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a formal apology in the House of Commons on May 27, 2021, for the internment of Canadians of Italian descent during the Second World War. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Justin Trudeau famously apologized a lot while prime minister — to Japanese-Canadians, Jewish-Canadians, Italian-Canadians, LGBT-Canadians, African-Canadians and multiple groups of Indigenous Canadians. Those were on behalf of all Canadians, for certain historical wrongs.

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He also had occasion to offer more modern apologies, from him personally and for his own personal wrongs.

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Here are the many apologies of Justin Trudeau in power:

Apologies I: Personal

I admit I came in physical contact with a number of members as I extended my arm, including someone behind me who I did not see. If anyone feels that they were impacted by my actions, I completely apologize. It was not my intention to hurt anyone.

— After grabbing the arm of Conservative MP Gord Brown and elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest during an angry moment in the House of Commons, May 18, 2016.

The commissioner’s report this morning makes it very clear that I should have taken precautions and cleared my family vacation and dealings with the Aga Khan in advance. I’m sorry I didn’t, and in the future, I will be clearing all my family vacations with the commissioner’s office.

— Statement to reporters after the conflict commissioner found he’d broken conflict rules in accepting a free vacation on a Caribbean island owned by the Aga Khan, and using one of the latter’s private helicopters to get there, Dec. 20, 2017. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the Aga Khan in his Centre Block office in Ottawa, May 17, 2016. Photo by PMO Photo

I’m going to be asking Canadians to forgive me for what I did. I shouldn’t have done that. I take responsibility for it. It was a dumb thing to do. I’m disappointed in myself; I’m pissed off at myself for having done it. I wish I hadn’t done it, but I did it and I apologize for it.

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— To reporters on his campaign plane after news that he had put on both black and brown face in his younger days, Sept. 18, 2019.

When it came to this organization and this program, the involvement that I had in the past, and that my family has, should have had me remove myself from these discussions and I’m sorry that I didn’t.

— After not recusing himself from discussions surrounding the awarding of a large government contract to the We Charity, July 13, 2020.

I am here today to say I wish I was here a few weeks ago, and I deeply regret it.

— Apologizing for personally skipping events marking the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by traveling to Tofino, B.C., for a private holiday instead, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation, Oct. 20, 2021.

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Apologies II: Historical

I apologize, first and foremost, to the victims of the incident. No words can fully erase the pain and suffering they experienced.  Regrettably, the passage of time means that none are alive to hear our apology today. Still, we offer it, fully and sincerely. For our indifference to your plight. For our failure to recognize all that you had to offer. For the laws that discriminated against you, so senselessly. And for not formally apologizing sooner. For all these things, we are truly sorry.

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— Apology for the Komagata Maru incident, House of Commons, May 27, 2016.

For every Innu, Inuit, and NunatuKavut child in Newfoundland and Labrador who suffered discrimination, mistreatment, abuse, and neglect in residential schools — we are sorry. While this long overdue apology will not undo the harm done, we offer it as a sign that we as a government and as a country accept responsibility for our failings. It is our shared hope that we can learn from this past and continue to advance our journey of reconciliation and healing. We have the power to be better and to do better.

— Apology to former students of Newfoundland and Labrador residential schools, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nov. 24, 2017.

Today we acknowledge an often-overlooked part of Canada’s history. Today, we finally talk about Canada’s role in the systemic oppression, criminalization, and violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit communities. And it is my hope that in talking about these injustices, in vowing to never repeat them, and acting to right these wrongs, we can begin to heal.

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— Apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians, House of Commons, Nov. 28, 2017.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugs Veteran’s Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan after making a formal apology to individuals harmed by federal policies that led to the oppression of LGBTQ2 people, in the House of Commons, Nov. 28, 2017. Photo by Adrian Wyld /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Adolf Hitler alone did not seal the fate of the St. Louis passengers or the Jews of Europe. To harbour such hatred and indifference towards the refugees was to share in the moral responsibility for their deaths. And while decades have passed since we turned our backs on Jewish refugees, time has by no means absolved Canada of its guilt or lessened the weight of its shame.

— Apology to the passengers of the MS St. Louis, House of Commons, Nov. 7, 2018.

We are sorry for the colonial mindset that drove the federal government’s actions… We know now that what we did was wrong. We know now that we must work to make it right. It shouldn’t have taken us so many years to tell you that. We are sorry that you have carried this burden for too long. We are sorry that because we waited, there are many who will never hear this apology.

— Apology to Inuit for the Management of the Tuberculosis Epidemic from the 1940s to the 1960s, Iqaluit, Nunavut, March 8, 2019.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an official apology to Inuit for the federal government’s management of tuberculosis in the Arctic from the 1940s to the 1960s during an event in Iqaluit, Nunavut, on March 8, 2019. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS

To the men and women who were taken to prisoner of war camps or jail without charge — people who are no longer with us to hear this apology — to the tens of thousands of innocent Italian-Canadians who were labelled enemy aliens, to the children and grandchildren who have carried a past generation’s shame and hurt, and to their community, a community that has given so much to our country, we are sorry.

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— Apologizing for the interment of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War, House of Commons, May 27, 2021.

Last year, the findings of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools across the country forced Canadians to reflect on our country’s failures and their impacts that continue to be felt today. As a country, we must never forget the unthinkable tragedies that took place and we must honour the children who went missing and never came home. Today’s apology is a step forward in acknowledging the truth of our past. We cannot separate the legacy of the residential school system from the institutions that created, maintained, and operated it, including the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church.

— Statement by the Prime Minister on the apology from Pope Francis regarding the residential school system, April 1, 2022.

For the blatant anti-Black hate and systemic racism that denied these men dignity in life and in death, we are sorry. Only when the truths of the past are acknowledged can we begin to dress the wounds they created and build a better, more inclusive Canada for all… The story of No. 2 Construction Battalion, and the stories of bravery, honour, and sacrifice of many other trailblazing Canadians, will play an important role in ensuring this horrible treatment never occurs again.

— To the descendants of the First World War’s No. 2 Construction Battalion, Truro, N.S., July 9, 2022.

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