Trooper Karine Blais died Monday when the vehicle she was riding in struck an improvised explosive device in Kandahar's Shah Wali Kot district. (Canadian Forces Combat Camera/DND)

Canada's chief of defence staff issued an apology Thursday for the decision to make a stopover in Ottawa to drop off troops from the plane that was bringing their slain comrade back to Canada from Afghanistan.

"I want to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone who may have been offended by the decision to return troops to Ottawa prior to the final repatriation of our fallen comrade Trooper Karine Blais," Gen. Walter Natynczyk said in a statement.

Military officials said about 117 soldiers got off in Ottawa before the plane carrying the casket of Blais, 21, continued on to Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

A "very upset" member of the Canadian Forces sent an email to the CBC complaining about the stopover on the flight from Kandahar Airfield to CFB Trenton, in Ontario.

The person said Trooper Blais "did not get the respect she deserved" and that the 116 other Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan have first landed in Trenton.

The decision to stop in Ottawa was apparently a logistical decision so the returning soldiers would not have to land in Trenton and then make the three-hour trip back to Ottawa, from where they would be transported to their homes.

Mourners line the road as the hearse carrying Karine Blais's casket leaves CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Thursday. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Natynczyk said he wanted to assure Canadians that the military's goal is to "treat all fallen soldiers with respect, dignity and honour, and it is our intention to continue to ensure this policy is followed."

Overpasses along Ontario's Highway 401 west of Trenton were packed with civilians and veterans who wanted to honour Blais as her casket was transported to Toronto.

The outpouring of support lined what's been dubbed the Highway of Heroes, stretching from CFB Trenton to Toronto, where the bodies of fallen soldiers are taken before returning to their families for funeral services.

Blais was killed Monday when the vehicle she was travelling in was hit by a roadside bomb explosion north of the city of Kandahar. Four other soldiers were wounded in the blast.

Blais's family lives in the town of Les Méchins in eastern Quebec. Blais was based at CFB Valcartier, Que., and served with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment, also known as the Van Doos, but was a member of the 12th Armoured Regiment of Canada.