CALGARY—Both Calgary and Edmonton’s mayors and several Indigenous leaders extended invitations to meet with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg since she announced her upcoming trip to Alberta, but the province has yet to reach out — at least for now.

Thunberg hasn’t given any details on where or when she’ll appear during her announced visit to Alberta. A spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry Tuesday morning. Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said they’ve only seen what everyone else has — a public Twitter post.

“She has not reached out to the government,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “At this point, we don’t have a plan to reach out to her.”

Nixon added he hopes Thunberg will meet with oil and gas industry representatives who are producing what he described as the most ethical, environmentally-friendly oil and gas in the world. In a weekend statement, the United Conservative government trusted she’d recognize Alberta’s reputation compared to oil producing jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia and Iran — “which she will presumably visit next” — along with major polluters like China.

Thunberg’s activism began in August 2018 when she began sitting in front of the Swedish Parliament building every school day for three weeks to protest a lack of action on the climate crisis. She soon began striking every Friday, and her efforts became known as “Fridays for Future.”

Her strikes, posted to Instagram and Twitter, went viral. Schoolchildren around the world — including Alberta — began organizing Friday climate demonstrations of their own in solidarity. Late last month, thousands of young people took to the streets in at least 85 Canadian cities and in dozens of other countries around the world for a massive global climate strike inspired by Thunberg’s movement.

Thunberg has spent the past several weeks travelling the United States and Canada, speaking to United Nations delegates and schoolchildren alike about the need for drastic government action to address climate change. She intends to tour the Americas though a UN climate conference hosted in Chile this December.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said it isn’t clear where in Alberta Thunberg will go, but she’s welcome to visit. He said they’d like to talk about how seriously Calgary is talking climate action.

“We’re always interested in having a dialogue on the intersection of energy and the environment, as well as highlighting the climate achievements of the Canadian energy sector,” Nenshi said in a statement.

In August, Calgary’s Climate Resilience Strategy was cut by $124,000 as part of the city’s $60 million in budget cuts. The strategy includes working toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy management and reducing the effects of extreme weather and climate change on the city.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson also offered an invitation to the capital’s city hall to discuss their August declaration of a climate emergency similar to those in Halifax, Ottawa, Kingston and Vancouver. The declaration calls for city administration to report back to council about its progress on climate action.

“Regardless of where you visit, I wish you nothing but the best,” Iveson told Thunberg in a Twitter post Tuesday morning.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said he would also welcome Thunberg to his land. He described her as “the voice of age” — in other words, wisdom — and said Albertans should listen to her message.

“That young woman has the heart of a lion,” he said.

Adam said Thunberg would encounter resentment from Albertans wherever she went in the province. He also pushed back against criticism of Thunberg, saying she simply wants to talk about global climate change.

“What are we running from? That’s the question that has to be asked. What is Alberta running from?” Adam said.

Tsuut’ina Nation Chief Lee Crowchild, who issued an open invitation to Thunberg on Sunday, said a member within his community mentioned she was making her way through Alberta and recommended he invite her, so he sent off the tweet. So far, however, he hasn’t heard back.

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“You never know. If it happens, it happens,” he said on Tuesday. “We’re all in this fight together.”

With files from Andrew Jeffrey, Kashmala Fida, Amy Tucker, and Hamdi Issawi

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