Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the former Cuban president Fidel Castro was a dictator, but that does not mean it was inappropriate to acknowledge his achievements at the time of his death.

"He certainly was a polarizing figure and there certainly were significant concerns around human rights," Trudeau said Sunday in Antananarivo, Madagascar, where he was leading the Canadian delegation to the summit of la Francophonie.

"That's something that I'm open about and highlighted, but on the passing of his death I expressed a statement that highlighted the deep connection between the people of Canada and the people of Cuba," Trudeau said at a news conference.

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Read more: Trudeau criticized for laudatory statement on Fidel Castro's death

When asked directly whether he thought Castro was a dictator, Trudeau said: "Yes."

The Liberal prime minister is facing criticism at home and abroad for a statement he issued shortly after learning that Castro had died at the age of 90.

The statement expressed his "deep sorrow" about the death of Castro, without mentioning the human rights violations of his regime beyond referring vaguely to him as a "a controversial figure." Trudeau also referred to him as a "legendary revolutionary and orator," who made significant improvements to the education and health-care systems of Cuba.

"I know my father was very proud to call him a friend," Trudeau also said in his statement.

His father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, was the first NATO leader to visit Cuba when he met the leader of Cuba's communist revolution — and long-time antagonist of the United States — in 1976, and Castro came to Montreal to attend his funeral nearly a quarter-century later.

Trudeau delivered a shorter version of his condolence message Saturday at the beginning of his keynote address at the opening ceremonies of la Francophonie — a speech, ironically, that called out other world leaders for human rights abuses against girls, women and the LGBTQ community.

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Trudeau said he never shies away from raising human rights issues, including on his recent visit to Cuba.

"Canadians know that I always talk about human rights, including here yesterday, including with Raul Castro two weeks ago and wherever I go around the world," he said.

Asked whether he regretted the wording of the statement, Trudeau seemed to draw a comparison to how people reacted to the death of Castro to how they reacted to the death of his father, although he did not mention him by name.

"I have a personal recollection of the reaction when a long-time political figure of a particular country passes away, however polarizing they may have been for certain people," he said.

Trudeau said he understood how people with difficult memories of the regime might be shocked by the praise he gave so easily to Castro.

"I am not all trying to minimize the impact that this man has had, throughout a long time in this county," said Trudeau.

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Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard did not think the message from Trudeau was inappropriate given Castro had just passed away.

"Yes, his accomplishments will be in various tones of grey — some white, some black — but historians will have to decide this," Couillard, who headed the Quebec delegation to la Francophonie, told reporters Sunday.

"I see no controversy in describing him as a giant of the 20th century," he said.