Elbowgate: Canadians mock 'manhandling' by Trudeau in the House

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau engaged in a heated exchange with NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair after Trudeau crossed the floor and extended his arm to guide a whip through a crowd of MPs.

Canadians on Twitter were quick to poke fun at a scuffle involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons, in which the PM came into physical contact with a female MP from the NDP.

And while many acknowledged that Trudeau should not have jostled NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, most of the Twitter response to "#elbowgate" suggested the parties' reactions to the incident were blown way out of proportion.

One individual compared footage of the elbow to recordings of the John F. Kennedy assassination, calling it "the Zapruder film of our time."

A number of people laughed off suggestions that the PM had actually assaulted Brosseau, saying that the incident was no worse than getting bumped on a bus or in line at a store.

Others immortalized the "Elbowgate" moment using Photoshop.

One individual sought to put the whole thing in perspective by tweeting a photo of former prime minister Jean Chretien choking a protester in 1996, in what has come to be known as the "Shawinigan Handshake."

Trudeau apologized in the House of Commons on Thursday for his "inappropriate behaviour" toward Brosseau.

"I did not pay attention to my surroundings and as a result, I made contact with the member from Berthier-Maskinonge," he said.