justin trudeau

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.

While speaking to Republican donors, Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada, while admitting he really "had no idea."

The government of Canada has introduced legislation to allow adults to possess, share and purchase marijuana, while also strengthening penalties for those who give or sell the products to youth.

NAFTA has long united the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada. With Donald Trump headed to the White House, trade partners say they're open to talks.