Justin Trudeau's anti-Alberta remarks aren't going over well in Quebec either
MONTREAL — Justin Trudeau has come under criticism for his comments about Alberta in the place where he made them in an interview two years ago — Quebec.
The Liberal MP and leadership candidate blamed the country’s problems on Albertans controlling the political agenda in a 2010 French-language television show that resurfaced this week.
The interview didn’t make any waves in Quebec when it first aired but some pundits now argue Trudeau was out of line.
One newspaper columnist hypothesized about what would happen if the tables were turned, and Quebec were on the receiving end of such comments.
Yves Boisvert of Montreal’s La Presse said Quebecers would be outraged if another high-profile politician made similar statements about their own province.
“We can easily imagine the howls we’d make if a contender for the leadership of a federal party spoke in such generalizing terms about Quebecers,” Boisvert said in a column on the newspaper’s website.
Boisvert suggested that Trudeau supporters should “start to ask serious questions about the quality of his political judgment, and his judgment in general.”
A writer for the magazine L’Actualite, meanwhile, said the comments could hurt Trudeau for a long time to come as he tries to make inroads in Western Canada.
“In one fell swoop, this particular interview revives doubts shared by many in Western Canada about the federal Liberals,” Manon Cornellier said in a blog post.
“What should they believe? What Justin Trudeau said only two years ago or what he’s saying now, as he seeks their support in his bid for the Liberal Party of Canada.”
In the interview on Les francs-tireurs, Trudeau said that “Canada isn’t doing well right now because it’s Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda.”
He also said Canada would be better served if there were more Quebecers than Albertans in charge.
Trudeau apologized on Friday, saying his comments were meant to be directed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who rose to power as an MP from Calgary.
His comment about the lack of Quebecers in power, he said, was an attempt to urge voters in Quebec to support a national party rather than the Bloc Quebecois.
‘We can easily imagine the howls we’d make if a contender for the leadership of a federal party spoke in such generalizing terms about Quebecers’
While Trudeau has taken heat for the controversy, some Quebecers believe it may in fact boost his popularity in Quebec, where Harper’s Conservatives remain unpopular.
“His comment could help him win votes here,” a reader said on the La Presse website.
On Friday, Trudeau apologized for the his comments but continued to suggest they have been misinterpreted.
Trudeau apologized during a stop in Vancouver, insisting he was really just making a clumsy attack on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who rose to power as an MP from Calgary.
“I was wrong to relate the area of the country that Mr. Harper is from … with the policies that he has that don’t represent the values of most Canadians,” Trudeau told a gathering of reporters.
“It was wrong to use a shorthand to say Alberta when I was really talking about Mr. Harper’s government, and I’m sorry I did that.”
The Conservatives have used the interview as fodder to attack Trudeau and his party, particularly in Calgary, where a federal byelection scheduled for next week has become more competitive than expected.
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All I'm going to say is if Justin Trudeau get elected as Prime Minister, I think Free Alberta may get an uptick in support.
Maybe it's time for Alberta to leave Canada, or at least get equal representation as Quebec has.
I guess like Father like son...
Like father, like son: Kenney says Justin Trudeau’s ‘arrogant anti-Alberta attitude’ is as bad as Pierre Trudeau’s | National Post
Since it seems Alberta is always at odds with Ottawa over hot political topics (same sex marriage, Kyoto, liberation of Iraq, gun registry, GST)...it may make sense...
I'm very tired of Canada being the concerns of two provinces - Quebec and Ontario...
MONTREAL — Justin Trudeau has come under criticism for his comments about Alberta in the place where he made them in an interview two years ago — Quebec.
The Liberal MP and leadership candidate blamed the country’s problems on Albertans controlling the political agenda in a 2010 French-language television show that resurfaced this week.
The interview didn’t make any waves in Quebec when it first aired but some pundits now argue Trudeau was out of line.
One newspaper columnist hypothesized about what would happen if the tables were turned, and Quebec were on the receiving end of such comments.
Yves Boisvert of Montreal’s La Presse said Quebecers would be outraged if another high-profile politician made similar statements about their own province.
“We can easily imagine the howls we’d make if a contender for the leadership of a federal party spoke in such generalizing terms about Quebecers,” Boisvert said in a column on the newspaper’s website.
Boisvert suggested that Trudeau supporters should “start to ask serious questions about the quality of his political judgment, and his judgment in general.”
A writer for the magazine L’Actualite, meanwhile, said the comments could hurt Trudeau for a long time to come as he tries to make inroads in Western Canada.
“In one fell swoop, this particular interview revives doubts shared by many in Western Canada about the federal Liberals,” Manon Cornellier said in a blog post.
“What should they believe? What Justin Trudeau said only two years ago or what he’s saying now, as he seeks their support in his bid for the Liberal Party of Canada.”
In the interview on Les francs-tireurs, Trudeau said that “Canada isn’t doing well right now because it’s Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda.”
He also said Canada would be better served if there were more Quebecers than Albertans in charge.
Trudeau apologized on Friday, saying his comments were meant to be directed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who rose to power as an MP from Calgary.
His comment about the lack of Quebecers in power, he said, was an attempt to urge voters in Quebec to support a national party rather than the Bloc Quebecois.
‘We can easily imagine the howls we’d make if a contender for the leadership of a federal party spoke in such generalizing terms about Quebecers’
While Trudeau has taken heat for the controversy, some Quebecers believe it may in fact boost his popularity in Quebec, where Harper’s Conservatives remain unpopular.
“His comment could help him win votes here,” a reader said on the La Presse website.
On Friday, Trudeau apologized for the his comments but continued to suggest they have been misinterpreted.
Trudeau apologized during a stop in Vancouver, insisting he was really just making a clumsy attack on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who rose to power as an MP from Calgary.
“I was wrong to relate the area of the country that Mr. Harper is from … with the policies that he has that don’t represent the values of most Canadians,” Trudeau told a gathering of reporters.
“It was wrong to use a shorthand to say Alberta when I was really talking about Mr. Harper’s government, and I’m sorry I did that.”
The Conservatives have used the interview as fodder to attack Trudeau and his party, particularly in Calgary, where a federal byelection scheduled for next week has become more competitive than expected.
......................................................
All I'm going to say is if Justin Trudeau get elected as Prime Minister, I think Free Alberta may get an uptick in support.
Maybe it's time for Alberta to leave Canada, or at least get equal representation as Quebec has.
I guess like Father like son...
Like father, like son: Kenney says Justin Trudeau’s ‘arrogant anti-Alberta attitude’ is as bad as Pierre Trudeau’s | National Post
Since it seems Alberta is always at odds with Ottawa over hot political topics (same sex marriage, Kyoto, liberation of Iraq, gun registry, GST)...it may make sense...
I'm very tired of Canada being the concerns of two provinces - Quebec and Ontario...
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