Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits he shouldn’t be making stupid jokes in public after a quip last week prompted the scorn of conservative commentators in the United States and elsewhere.

During a town hall in Edmonton, Mr Trudeau interrupted a woman after she used the word “mankind”, saying he preferred “peoplekind”.

Critics accused Mr Trudeau of being too politically correct.

The incident was the latest attempt at failed humour by the 46-year-old prime minister.

“You all know that I don’t necessarily have the best of track records on jokes,”  he told reporters in Ottawa, mentioning the “peoplekind” remark.

“I made a dumb joke a few days ago that seems to have gone a little viral. It played well in the room and in context.

“Out of context it doesn’t play so well and it’s a little reminder to me that I shouldn’t be making jokes even when I think they’re funny.”

Mr Trudeau’s “peoplekind” comment caught the attention of international media outlets, including conservative American news channel Fox News.

The incident came the same week the Canadian Senate passed a bill to make the country’s national anthem gender-neutral.

Political opponents and commentators have in the past complained that Mr Trudeau lacks the gravitas needed to be a national leader.

In his first public remarks after a devastating wildfire ripped through an Albertan oil-producing region in 2016, he began with a quip about the Star Wars movie franchise.

In October 2014, when he was still in opposition, Mr Trudeau criticised the then conservative government for joining the coalition against Islamic State.

He said humanitarian aid was better than “trying to whip out our [fighter jets] and show them how big they are”.