Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference during the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 23.

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 t

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