Several provincial premiers are urging Canada's next governor general to clear up any perception that she and her husband supported Quebec separation.

New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell on Friday echoed comments made by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein at a premiers conference in Banff, Alta.

Michaëlle Jean. (file photo)
Michaëlle Jean. (file photo)

On Thursday Klein said Michaëlle Jean would not be fit to serve as governor general if she and her husband had voted "oui" for Quebec sovereignty in the 1995 referendum.

But on Friday, Klein appeared to accept reassurances from Prime Minister Paul Martin that Jean's background had been thoroughly vetted.

"They never would have appointed her ... had they had any doubt about [the couple's] loyalty to Canada," Klein said Martin told him.

Martin also telephoned Conservative Leader Stephen Harper asking him to back off from criticism of Jean's selection.

In the September issue of the sovereigntist publication Le Québécois, novelist Rene Boulanger says Jean and her filmmaker husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, supported independence 10 years ago.

Jean has been "soaking for ages in the sovereigntist atmosphere," while Lafond is a "declared sovereigntist," says the article.

The report prompted Lord to ask: "Did she vote yes or not," adding "I can certainly understand why it would raise concern."

Campbell also said it was important because Jean would be representing the Queen "and we have a country that we're building and a future with that that's unified."

But N.L. Premier Danny Williams said how Lafond voted was a personal decision that should remain private.

Martin's Quebec lieutenant, federal Minister of Transport Jean Lapierre, also defended the couple, saying the fact that sovereigntists don't like the appointment shows that it must have been the right thing to do.

Lapierre echoed Martin's praise for Jean and Lafond, added that the attacks on their past are irrelevant.

Lapierre was a Liberal member of Parliament who quit the party and later sat in the House of Commons as a member of the Bloc Québécois before returning to the Liberals.

On Thursday, Gilles Rheaume, former president of the Société St-Jean-Baptiste, said he wanted to know how the couple voted in the 1995 referendum.

Rheaume said people in Quebec and the rest of Canada have the right to know if they are sovereigntists.

Jean succeeds Adrienne Clarkson as governor general on Sept. 27.