REGINA -- Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, who last month was called sneaky by Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, is saying goodbye to all his "friends" in the Parti Quebecois after the party's resounding election loss.

In a Twitter post Tuesday, Wall bids "my sincere farewell" in French and signs the tweet "Le Ratoureux."

The premier says he thought it was light-hearted, but based on some of the tweets he received back, not everyone is taking the comment "in the spirit in which I offered it."

"I've learned, for example, that redneck is the same in French as it is in English," Wall said at the legislature Tuesday.

"And I've also learned that some very nasty words are pretty easy to translate. You don't need your French-English dictionary because there are some supporters of the PQ ... who are very, very upset.

"But I mean let's face it, I was sending out a tweet. They were trying to break up the country."

 

 

There is no direct French translation for "ratoureux," though it can be used to describe someone who is cunning, wily or mischievous.

Marois used the Quebecois slang to describe her Prairie counterpart as a sneaky person who always tries to trip her up.

At the time, Wall also used Twitter to address Marois's comment and said he only ever tries to trip up Saskatchewan's official Opposition.

Marois was the big loser in the Quebec election Monday -- her party went down to crushing defeat and she lost in her own riding. Before the night was out, she said she would be stepping down as party leader.