New Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is defending his comments on Quebec’s refusal to sign the Canadian Constitution.

While speaking about the 31st anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, on Wednesday, Trudeau said Quebec had not ratified the Constitution because then-premier René Lévesque was a sovereigntist.

“The NDP has always been particularly lukewarm in its approach to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to the unfortunate way in which Quebec chose not to sign the Constitution because it had a provincial premier who was a sovereigntist at the start of the 1980s," he said in French.

Parti Québécois Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs Alexandre Cloutier took him to task, pointing out that federalist premiers such as Robert Bourassa and Jean Charest also avoided signing the Constitution.

In a Wednesday interview with CBC Radio’s Quebec AM, Trudeau defended his comments.

“I did not say [Levesque’s pro-sovereignty stance] was the reason, but what I did point out was that it is unlikely that a politician whose focus is on withdrawing Quebec from Canada was going to support something that actually strengthens Canada.”

Trudeau added there wasn’t anything controversial about what he said.

“It’s not a shocking revelation,“ he said. “I don’t think anyone expects a sovereigntist premier like Madame Marois to suddenly turn around and say, 'Oh by the way, I’m thinking about signing the Canadian Constitution.'”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/04/18/quebec-justin-trudeau-levesque-constitution-parti-quebecois.html