Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's attacks on his home province of Ontario — now that it is being run by Liberals — have become so commonplace that even other Ontario Conservative MPs have chimed in.

But now the federal government appears to be broadening its offensive.

This morning, International Trade Minister David Emerson was speaking to a conference in Ottawa about increasing trade between Canada and the European Union. When discussing the importance of provincial involvment to a room full of European ambassadors as well as business leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, Emerson praised Quebec's efforts in this area and said he hoped Ontario would "find the religion soon."

The comment seemed out of place for a man who was elected in B.C. as a Liberal, then quickly crossed the floor for a cabinet position.

Emerson usually refrains from such overly partisan attacks and the timing of this one felt off as well: Just the night before, Quebec Premier Jean Charest recognized Ontario as a partner in his efforts to strengthen Canada-EU trade links.

The EU's representative in Canada, Dorian Prince, also seemed to disagree with Emerson when he praised Quebec and Ontario for working to make trade easier.

Emerson didn't stop after his speech to answer questions about the comment, saying he had a "meeting with my boss."