Mayor Valerie Plante addressed the controversy over her not attending Canada Day celebrations last weekend.
She was criticized because the weekend before, she did attend Fete Nationale festivities.
Plante says, at the request of her children, she decided to have a quiet Canada Day with her family.
"It was an opportunity for my kids, they actually requested me, said 'mom, can we take a few days off'," she said. "Outside of the city, chilling, which I feel like is very Canadian thing to do."
She told CJAD 800s Leslie Roberts one of her biggest challenges is balancing her work and family responsibilities.
"That's why sometimes when the kids are really requesting their mother, I'm like okay, it's time now."
The mayor was on on CJAD 800s weekly city hall feature Friday morning.