Justin Trudeau Says He's 'Moving Forward' After Split From Sophie Grégoire & Thanked Canadians

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau says he is focusing on his kids and the future in his first comments since the news of his split from Sophie Grégoire Trudeau went public.

Canada's leader shared a brief statement about the separation during a press conference on Monday in Prince Edward Island, in which he also thanked Canadians for their support.

"I really, really want to thank Canadians for having been so incredibly gracious and incredibly generous in respecting our privacy and our space," he said as per Reuters.

The outlet notes that the PM did not want to go into details about how he was feeling about the split from his wife of 18 years.

He did, however, briefly talk about their recent family vacation to Vancouver Island.

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

Last week, Sophie Grégoire shared a few photos from that B.C. trip with their kids, Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien.

In her caption, she expressed how much she loves visiting Tofino.

"After almost two decades later since my first visit, the raw beauty of Tofino still takes my breath away," she wrote in the Instagram post.

"Just a couple of days spent as a family surfing the waves, biking, hiking, fishing, sunset gazing or bathing in sustainably harvested seaweed within Canada's first recognized Tribal Park (thanks to Moon Jelly Bathhouse) it was a pure blessing! Back to school and work is around the corner but let’s stretch it out as much as possible! Happy end of summer everyone."

The couple shocked many Canadians when they announced they were separating on August 2 after 18 years of marriage.

"Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate," the pair wrote in a joint post.

"As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build."

It was also equally as surprising to realize that Trudeau was following in his dad's footsteps. The last time a Canadian prime minister announced they were separating from their spouse was in 1977 when Trudeau's dad, Pierre, announced his separation from his then wife Margaret while he was still in office.

Prior to his trip to P.E.I, Trudeau visited wildfire evacuees from the Northwest Territories in Edmonton on Friday.

The Canadian PM is currently in Charlottetown for a cabinet retreat where the devastating B.C. wildfires are expected to be discussed as well as the country's housing crisis, according to a report by CTV News.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.