The prime minister has sent a letter expressing his regret over an incident at a Quebec town hall in January

MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is formally apologizing after insisting on answering English questions in French during a Quebec tour in January.

A Montreal-based anglophone advocacy group published a letter on its website today from Trudeau in which he expresses his sincere regrets.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received a series of complaints regarding Trudeau’s decision to respond in French to questions posed to him in English during a town hall meeting in Sherbrooke.

Trudeau says he recognizes he should have answered questions in the language they were asked and is promising to do so in the future.

The prime minister adds that anglophone Liberal MPs from Quebec approached him about the issue.

Quebec Community Groups Network, which received the prime minister’s letter, says Trudeau’s response was gracious. The organization did not file any official complaints with the languages commissioner.