Imagine if he was talking about our province: Quebec commentators chide Trudeau

MONTREAL – Justin Trudeau is coming 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.

Trudeau’s comments didn’t make any waves in Quebec when first aired but now some pundits say they show a lack of judgment.

A columnist in Montreal’s La Presse newspaper says Quebecers would likely be outraged if a leadership candidate for a national party made similar generalizations about their own province.

Another writer for the magazine L’Actualite says the comments could hurt Trudeau for a long time to come as he tries to make inroads in Western Canada.

Trudeau apologized on Friday in Vancouver, saying he was trying to make a point about Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who rose to power as an MP from Calgary.