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By Lina Dib

OTTAWA — A federal NDP candidate’s self-described fleeting love affair with Quebec sovereignty is much ado about nothing, the party says.

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Beatrice Zako, the NDP hopeful in the Montreal riding of Papineau, used to be in Option nationale, a pro-independence provincial party in Quebec.

But Zako likened her flirtation with independence to a brief love affair. In this case, it was a three-month fling, the length of time she was a member of the party’s national council.

“Sometimes you get charmed, you believe in something,” Zako told The Canadian Press.

“But it only lasted three months. Three months is not really a long time. It took me three months to realize that was not where I really wanted to defend the interests of society.”

Option nationale confirmed Zako resigned shortly after party founder Jean-Martin Aussant stepped down in 2013.

Zako’s fling with sovereignty might have been brief but was reportedly quite passionate.