justin trudeau

Trudeau's Liberal Party defeated the Conservatives, but still fell short of an outright majority. It will need to reach out to smaller rival parties to form a new government.

"Darkening your face ... is always unacceptable because of the racist history of black face," Trudeau said, even as another image surfaced apparently showing him wearing dark makeup.

The revelation of the photo comes as Trudeau is launching his reelection bid. "I'm pissed off at myself, I'm disappointed in myself," he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first approved the project, which is opposed by many environmental groups, in 2016, but Tuesday's announcement means construction can begin later this year.

Canada's prime minister said he was unaware of miscommunication that unfolded, leading his former attorney general to say she was pressured in the case of a firm charged with bribery and fraud.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate's international reputation has taken a severe beating over her government's failure to halt atrocities against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

"I issue this statement reluctantly, in response to mounting media pressure," the former reporter wrote in a statement on Friday.

The accusation is nearly two decades old. The Canadian prime minister said Thursday that he apologized "in the moment" but that "the same interactions can be felt very differently" by people involved.

"Canada does not believe that ad hominem attacks are a particularly appropriate or useful way to conduct our relations with other countries," said Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland.