Michel Jalbert, the Quebec man jailed after driving into an American border town for gasoline, is denying U.S. claims that he was warned about his routine crossings at the Canada-U.S. border.

Jalbert was freed on bail from a jail in Bangor, Maine Thursday after being held for 35 days for allegedly being in the U.S. illegally and carrying a firearm.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham discussed Jalbert's case Thursday during a meeting in Ottawa with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said the American government was working with U.S. border officials to "expedite" Jalbert's court case.

Powell called the arrest "an unfortunate incident" but said Jalbert was warned on two prior occasions that he could no longer cross the U.S. border to gas up his truck -- a routine event for residents of his home town of Pohenegamook, Que. -- without first securing U.S. Customs clearance.

Not so, says Jalbert.

"It was normal to go to that gas bar. I never was warned," he told CTV's Canada AM in an interview shortly after he stepped back onto Canadian soil in Claire, N.B.

"I feel a little weird, especially because I only went to fill up the tank and I end up with 35 days in jail and the centre of attraction," Jalbert said in French.

But a gun found in his truck, coupled with Jalbert's past criminal record in Canada when he was a teenager, may have further exacerbated the situation.

 The high-profile case has come to symbolize Canadians' frustration over new U.S. border policies, which some fear may be restricting the movements of citizens who have become accustomed to crossing the border with relative ease.

It's unclear whether the media attention, or Graham's meeting with Powell, played any significant part in getting Jalbert released.

Jalbert's Quebec lawyer, Jean-Pierre Rancourt, is convinced the prosecutor backed down on orders from high above because the case was becoming an embarrassment to the American government.

"Somebody talked to her. I'm sure of it because yesterday she didn't want to talk to us and she was stubborn," Rancourt said, referring to U.S. attorney Paula Silsby.

Jalbert said American officials used him to set an example for other Canadians that they should take the border a lot more seriously. His American lawyer Jon Haddow agreed.

"It's sort of like they're announcing a change in policy, and at the same time saying they're gonna be a lot tougher on release decisions and fight them a lot harder," Haddow said.

Jalbert was let go after he signed a document called a voluntary departure admitting he illegally crossed into Maine.

The document could be used against Jalbert, who is expected back in U.S. court in January on charges of illegal entry and possession of a firearm. The felony charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Rancourt said he'll argue his client signed the voluntary departure "with a knife to his throat."

Haddow said Jalbert's admission that he was in the U.S. illegally will complicate the upcoming trial, but said his client's main concern was going home.

"It's sort of like a poison pill -- if you want to accept this, you've got to take this too," Haddow told The Canadian Press.

Whether he wins the court case or not, Jalbert said he won't be going back to the U.S. for gasoline anytime soon.

"I'll never go back on the other side," he said, adding he intends to fight the charges against him.

"It's not over."

With reports from CTV's Jed Kahane and The Canadian Press.