MONTREAL -- A federal NDP candidate is stepping down after it came to light she used to be a member of a pro-sovereignty party in Quebec.

Beatrice Zako says some of the comments she made while a member of Option nationale are not compatible with the vision of the NDP.

She also says her remarks from two years ago were not relayed to the federal party.

Zako spent three months in Option nationale and last week likened the stint to a brief love affair.

In a document submitted to the party's 2013 convention, Zako wrote that it was time to choose a political path and she had opted for Quebec independence.

She was also quoted as saying she was looking forward to replacing her Canadian passport with a Quebec one.

Zako was running in the Montreal riding of Papineau, which Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has held since 2008.