Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday his recent reply to a question about the state of trade talks with the U.S. — “Who cares?” — amounted to “a poor choice of words.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hammered the prime minister over his comment during question period in the House of Commons Tuesday.

“Before the election he promised ‘elbows up.’ After, it was, ‘Who cares?’ Before the election, he said the tariffs were an ‘existential crisis.’ Now he says they’re not a burning issue,” Poilievre said.

“Why is the prime minister before the election so much different than the one after?”

Carney walked back the comments he made over the weekend in response.

“On the night of the election … I made a promise to Canadians. When I make a mistake, I’ll admit it. That was a poor choice of words about a serious issue,” Carney said in question period.

Carney said he will announce further federal help for tariff-affected sectors later this week.

When he was asked Sunday during the G20 summit in Johannesburg when he last spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump, Carney said “Who cares?” and added he doesn’t have “burning issues” to discuss with Trump right now.

Trump abruptly ended trade negotiations with Canada last month in response to an ad paid for by the Ontario government that featured a recording of former president Ronald Reagan speaking against tariffs.

Carney later apologized to Trump for the ads, but trade talks are still suspended.

The prime minister is considering travelling to Washington next week for a FIFA World Cup event.