Alberta Premier Jason Kenney doubled down on the war room Wednesday during a news conference on health care.

Kenney was reacting to a question about an NDP Bill aimed at defunding the Canadian Energy Centre which has come to be known as the "war room".

"The creation of the Canadian Energy Centre was a platform commitment that we gave to Albertans that, I think, was hugely popular because Albertans understand that we've got to stand up and fight for a future for our energy workers and our prosperity against the foreign funded campaign to land lock Alberta energy," the Premier says.

He says the big impact will be when the Centre launches its major ad campaigns aimed at explaining the benefits of the Trans Mountain expansion to all Canadians, particularly focused on British Columbians.

Kenney says they'll also do a campaign to explain the economic and environmental benefits of liquefied natural gas exports.

"Another campaign just to improve energy literacy all across the country as well as targeted efforts to communicate with European financial markets about the shrinking environmental footprint of the Canadian oil sands, so these are all major projects that they're working on," Kenney says. "The vast majority, probably over 80 per cent of the budget will be invested in, to tell Alberta's great story about prosperity, energy and the environment across Canada and around the world."

He says the Centre has just released its first research report Canada's Oil Sands and Local First Nations which, he says underscores the social benefits of the Canadian energy sector.

 

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