Justin Trudeau attempts to explain himself.

“I’m sorry I said what I did. I was wrong to relate the area of the country that Mr. (Stephen) Harper is from with the people who live there and with the policies that he has that don’t represent the values of most Canadians,” said Trudeau, who was speaking at the Vancouver Art Gallery, on the final stop of his B.C. tour.

Trudeau said Conservatives are making the comments an issue because “they are panicking they might lose a byelection in Calgary Centre.” He dismissed any notion that his remarks may have hurt the Liberals’ chances in Calgary. ”There is a sense that people (in Calgary) are tired of being taken for granted by a government that is taking this country in the wrong direction,” he said. ”The energy has an awful lot of Conservatives very frightened. So when they get scared they attack.”