Sajjan urged to resign over Afghan offensive claim

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"The minister made a mistake," the Prime Minister said repeatedly.

"He acknowledged his responsibility and apologised for it; that's what Canadians expect when one makes a mistake," the Toronto Sun reported the Prime Minister as having said.

As a minister, Trudeau added, "He has my full confidence."

Sajjan, for his part, later rose and repeated his apology.

What Sajjan didn't do is explain his "mistake" which Ambrose noted he'd made twice -- once in 2015 and again two weeks ago during his India visit.

As such, his apology did little to assuage the opposition, with both the Conservatives and the Democratics calling on Trudeau to sack him.

National Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Thomas Mulcair joined the calls for Sajjan's resignation or firing. Mulcair slammed Sajjan for not making a "mistake" but for telling "a whopper".

"A whopper is not something you apologise for, it's something you step down for."

Sajjan was repeatedly heckled.

The minister was born in Bombeli village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district and had migrated to Canada in 1976 with his family. He is the first Sikh to serve as the Defence Minister of any other nation.