Valerie Plante has issued a mea culpa for speaking English.

Montreal’s mayor had to apologize Tuesday for speaking only in English at a news conference regarding private investment in artificial intelligence. Plante was hosting representatives of three British software firms that announced plans to open AI studios in Montreal.

After taking flak for it on social media, the mayor issued an apology on Twitter Tuesday night, attributing the English-only address to “going off script.”

“I left my text this morning while addressing a group of foreign investors in artificial intelligence. My communication should have been mainly in French,” she wrote in a French-language tweet. “I am proud to be the mayor of North America's French-speaking metropolis, and I remain committed to promoting our common and official language in all forums.”

When asked after the news conference why she spoke only in English, Plante said that the speech she had prepared was mostly in French, but that she did not consult her notes when she stood up to the podium to address the group.





Mea culpa. Je suis sortie de mon texte ce matin en m’adressant à un parterre d’investisseurs étrangers en intelligence artificielle. Ma communication aurait dû être principalement en français. #polmtl (1/2) — Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) December 4, 2018