OTTAWA (Reuters) - A small but significant slip of the tongue had Canada’s industry minister pleading for “more Canadian sex stories” on Monday, although he quickly insisted he was actually talking about success.

“We need more more Canadian sex stories,” Tony Clement told an Ottawa crowd during a speech on the government’s digital strategy.

A roar of laughter prevented him from correcting himself for a few seconds. “We need more Canadian SUCCESS stories ...” he said pausing to emphasize the correction, “... like RIM and its world-famous -- and now ubiquitous -- BlackBerry.”

Teased by reporters about the slip, Clement insisted he had not been thinking about sex.

“The male brain is a very strange organ at times, isn’t it? I have no explanation,” he said.

“It really was not on my mind. I want to stress that for the record. It just sort of blurted out.”