One Province Got Called The 'Alabama Of The North' & Trudeau Isn't Impressed
Justin Trudeau has spoken out after a series of “Quebec-bashing” comments were shared online by a University of Ottawa professor.
Professor Amir Attaran used Twitter to accuse the Quebec government of refusing to tackle systemic racism and described the province as the "Alabama of the North."
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He even went as far as to say that the province is "led by a white supremacist government."
During a conference with Quebec Premier François Legault on March 22, Trudeau responded by saying, “As a Quebecer, I'm always sorry when people try to propagate shock statements to irritate, to have a bit of publicity."
"We will always defend freedom of expression. But that's enough Quebec-bashing," the PM added.
In a statement, Ottawa University said the professor “does not speak on behalf of the University, nor has he made any claim to do so.”
The "Florida of Canada"
It’s not the first time a U.S. comparison like this has been made on Twitter.
Earlier this year, an American doctor described B.C. as the “Florida of Canada” because of their COVID-19 rules in schools.
In a tweet back in February, Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding took aim at the province’s school mask policies, saying he was “watching the Florida of Canada.... errrr British Columbia.”
Shortly after, the doctor spoke out to say that he didn’t intend to “mock” the Canadian province.