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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s cross-country tour has seen him exposed to impassioned and sometimes heated questions from Canadians, but rarely has he been left as red-faced as he was after a cheeky query posed by a Winnipeg elementary school student.

Trudeau was taking questions from students at Ecole Robert H Smith School, who earlier presented him with a signed Winnipeg Blue Bombers jersey.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly as Trudeau took a number of polite questions from students about his childhood aspirations and plans for the country’s future.

But one student threw out a question that led to a volley of gasps around the hall: “Why did your dad give everyone in western Canada the middle finger?”

READ MORE: LIVE: Justin Trudeau holds town hall at University of Winnipeg

Rather than delve into Pierre Trudeau‘s alleged role in fostering western alienation in Canada, Justin Trudeau defended his father for doing the best job he could.

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“My father had an approach to politics that not everyone agreed with,” Trudeau said to the shell-shocked audience.

“Some of the decisions my father made, there were a number of people who disagreed with [them] quite intensely, and they didn’t always get along the best way,” he continued.

READ MORE: Trudeau faces down tough, pro-oil audience in Calgary

“He made a mark on this country that shapes us to this day, and it’s because of him that this school has a big, successful immersion program.”

Trudeau later attended a town hall meeting at the University of Winnipeg, where he was involved in a tense exchange with a group of pipeline protesters.