MONTREAL – A Parti Quebecois leadership candidate is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to retract comments he made referring to Canada as “one nation” in a Canada Day video message.
Martine Ouellet says the message posted Friday on Trudeau’s official Facebook page ignores Quebec’s heritage and status as a nation.
In the video, Trudeau describes Confederation as the day the country became “one nation, one country, one Canada.”
WATCH: Justin Trudeau celebrates Canada Day in Ottawa
Ouellet shared the post to her own Facebook page, calling it “a direct insult” to the Quebec nation and its heritage.
“Trudeau revealed his true face yesterday,” she wrote. “Like father, like son, it’s really more of the same.”
She called on the prime minister to take back his comments and recognize Quebec’s status as a nation.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on the matter.
Ouellet, a former Quebec cabinet minister, is one of five candidates vying to replace Pierre Karl Peladeau as Parti Quebecois leader.
The party will announce its next leader Oct. 7.