KANANASKIS, Alta. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken out about the “cold-blooded murder” of John Ridsdel, who was beheaded by terrorists in the Philippines after being held hostage for seven months.

The 68-year-old Calgary native was one of four tourists – including fellow Canadian Robert Hall, a Norwegian man and a Filipino woman – who were kidnapped on Sept. 21 by Abu Sayyaf militants from a marina on Samal Island. The militants had threatened to kill one of the three male hostages if a large ransom was not paid by 3 p.m. Monday, local time.

According to Philippines police, a plastic bag containing Ridsdel’s decapitated head was dumped in a street Monday night by two men on a motorcycle in Jolo, a town in Sulu province.

“Canada condemns without reservation the brutality of the hostage takers and this unnecessary death,” Trudeau said in a hastily assembled appearance before the media in the midst of a cabinet retreat. “This was an act of cold-blooded murder and responsibility rests squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage.”

Trudeau said he was “outraged” by the news and that the Canadian government is committed to working with the Philippine government and international partners to “pursue those responsible for this heinous act and bring them to justice.”

Trudeau did not say whether the government had paid a ransom for Ridsdel or Hall. However, an official confirmed that it is a long-standing government policy to not pay ransom demands.

The southern Philippines is a resource-rich region that has been marred by lawlessness and decades-long insurgencies. Although the Government of Canada has not issued a nationwide advisory in effect for the Philippines, it does suggest that travellers “exercise a high degree of caution due to an ongoing terrorist threat to Westerners and Western interests.”