Justin Trudeau has tried to focus attention back on his re-election after a dramatic week in Canadian politics, in which the prime minister admitted to multiple images of him in brownface and not recalling how many times he had worn it.

The embattled Trudeau spent Friday walking the streets of east Toronto, posing for photos with residents and unveiling his party’s newest campaign pledge: a move to restrict handguns, ban assault-style rifles and begin buying back military-grade weapons that were legally purchased. He made the announcement near to the site of a gun rampage last year, when Faisal Hussain shot 15 people, killing two.

“As long as Canadians are losing their loved ones to gun violence, not enough has changed,” said Trudeau of the proposed ban. “We know you do not need a military-grade assault weapon, one designed to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time, to take down a deer.”

The move to heavily restrict certain firearms is likely to set up a fight between the Liberals, Conservatives and the gun lobby. But after his embarrassing week, Trudeau is likely to be keen to move past the events that left his campaign team scrambling.

Even Donald Trump weighed in on the scandal, telling reporters in the Oval office on Friday he was “surprised” by the “number of times” Trudeau appeared in photos.

After issuing his second apology on Thursday, the prime minister was unable to say how many times he used brownface – or if more images might surface.

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“I am wary of being definitive about this,” said Trudeau, telling reporters he didn’t admit to the third instance because he didn’t remember it occurring. “The fact is that I didn’t understand how hurtful this is to people who live with discrimination every single day. I have always acknowledged that I come from a place of privilege but I now need to acknowledge that that comes with a massive blind spot.”

Two days after the first image was published by Time magazine, the Liberal party has circled the wagons around their leader; there have been no public calls for Trudeau to step down and numerous candidates have expressed support for the prime minister, while also acknowledging the offensive nature of the incident.

“I think the real measure of the man, and I think the thing we need to be talking about, is all the amazing things we have done for diversity,” said Greg Fergus, a member of the federal Black Caucus and a Liberal MP, on Thursday.

“The Justin Trudeau I have come to know over the past four years is a champion of diversity and inclusion,” said Amarjeet Sohi in a tweet.

Following the firearms announcement, it is unclear if the policy announcement – in which Trudeau accused Conservatives of looking to “gut” the country’s gun laws – will force parties to shift gears or to continue their attack on the prime minister for the photographs.

The leader of the Conservative party, Andrew Scheer, has previously said Trudeau has lost the “moral authority” to govern following the prime minister’s two apologies for the racist images.

A unified party front is critical for the prime minister: as Trudeau looks to renew his parliamentary majority in an upcoming federal election, opinion polls shows him in a tight race against his Conservative rival, but the prime minister still holds in projected seats.

Despite trading barbs on the campaign trail, the leaders have yet to face each other on the debate stage. Trudeau skipped the first event in mid-September, opting instead to hold a campaign rally. The leaders will meet for the first time on 7 October, in advance of the 21 October election.