Canada PM Trudeau says focusing on kids and future after separation from wife

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said he is focusing on his children and the future in the first comments he has made since announcing earlier this month he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, were separating.

At the end of last week, Mr Trudeau returned from a holiday with his family and his wife in the Pacific province of British Columbia. On Aug 2 his office said

Mr Trudeau and Ms Gregoire Trudeau had signed a legal agreement to separate,

but he had not previously spoken about it in public.

“I got a really good 10 days with the family to focus on the kids, to focus on being together and moving forward,” Mr Trudeau said.

When asked, he declined to say how he was feeling and would not elaborate on any details about the separation. He thanked those who had offered him support, and stressed the need for continued privacy.

“I really, really want to thank Canadians for having been so incredibly gracious and incredibly generous in respecting our privacy and our space,” Mr Trudeau added.

Mr Trudeau, 51, and Ms Gregoire Trudeau, 48, were married in May 2005 and have three children, Xavier aged 15, Ella-Grace, 14, and Hadrien, 9. The couple had talked frankly in the past about difficulties in their relationship, and in recent years were seen less often together in public. REUTERS