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OTTAWA — Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is hitting back at Rachel Notley after coming under scathing criticism from the Alberta premier last week for comments he made about oil imports from Saudi Arabia.

“I know that Premier Notley’s in a tough political fight. But I’ve always felt and I believe that personal attacks are beneath her,” he told the National Post Monday in an interview from Quebec, where he is beginning a week-long tour focused on clean energy. “That’s not my way and I think she’s better than that.”

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The comments mark a departure for Singh, who has been careful not to criticize Notley directly, even as the two NDP leaders have positioned themselves on opposite sides of the pipeline debate — and even as Notley has become more vocal in distancing herself from Singh.

Singh also walked back his recent comments suggesting Canada should stop importing oil from Saudi Arabia, saying that’s “not (his) priority.”

Last week, Singh suggested on CBC’s Power & Politics that Canada could stop importing oil from the Gulf kingdom and consider importing from other countries “as an alternative.” His comments came in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s decision to expel Canada’s ambassador and freeze new trade with Canada after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland publicly criticized the recent arrest of women’s rights activists in that country.

“There’s other nations that we can look at in terms of access to oil and we should look at that as well,” Singh told host Vassy Kapelos. “I think we should take a hard look at: does it make sense to continue to have … trade relations with a country that has such a bad track record.”

The interview was quickly ridiculed by Western politicians, who argued that Canada should rely on its own oil resources rather than looking to other countries.

“Just embarrassing,” tweeted Alberta United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. “NDP leader says Canada should import oil from other countries, rather than accept that a pipeline to move Western Canadian oil to Eastern Canada is a good idea.”