Send this page to someone via email

WATCH ABOVE: Alberta’s premier is facing a fire storm after comments he made during a radio interview Wednesday. Tom Vernon explains.

EDMONTON — Comments made by Premier Jim Prentice have not gone over very well with some Albertans, who took to social media to express their disbelief.

While speaking with a radio station on Wednesday, Prentice said all Albertans are responsible for getting the province into a financial mess and everyone has to help clean it up.

“In terms of who is responsible we all need only look in the mirror,” said Prentice. Tweet This

“Collectively, we got into this as Albertans and collectively we’re going to get out of it, and everybody is going to have to shoulder some share of the responsibility.”

Those remarks sparked a firestorm on social media, prompting the hashtag #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — which became the top trending Twitter hashtag in Edmonton, and the second most popular in Canada. It also garnered plenty of reaction on Facebook, and prompted lively debate on Edmonton’s Reddit page.

Story continues below advertisement

“Now I have to sell these private jets that Martha & Henry have been using all of these years!” #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans #ableg #pcaa — Jonathan Sharek (@jsharek) March 5, 2015

Scroll down to view some of the most popular tweets.

WATCH: Hear from Marty Chan, the man behind the #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans frenzy

“I think that is a profoundly insulting comment to all Albertans,” said NDP leader Rachel Notley. “If Jim Prentice were to look in the mirror what he’d see is the leader of a very tired 43-year-old government, a government that is completely and totally and solely responsible for the fiscal crisis that we are in right now.

Story continues below advertisement

“He’d also see a government that has given away billions of dollars in corporate tax give-aways and tax give-aways to wealthy Albertans and that that is the heart of why we’re in the situation we’re in right now.”

Notley is calling on Prentice to issue an apology to Albertans. She said the Tories need to take responsibilities for their choices.

“These guys are the ones that have made the decisions. It’s their decisions that have put us here.

“How dare they blame the families who are struggling to make ends meet under the circumstances that these folks have created.” Tweet This

Wildrose leader Heather Forsyth said Prentice’s comments are another example of “talking down to Albertans.”

“At a time many Albertans are worried about the value of their home plummeting, keeping their job or being able to make ends meet, Mr. Prentice’s comments blaming Albertans for being directly at fault for the PC government’s gross fiscal mismanagement shows how deeply out-of-touch this 44-year-old government has become,” said Forsyth.

Story continues below advertisement

“It is his government who overspent by over $40 billion for the past decade, it is his government that has failed to ensure we could withstand $50 oil, it is his government that has made Alberta’s politicians and government the most expensive in Canada.” Tweet This

The Wildrose party is also demanding an apology from the premier for what it calls “condescending comments to all Albertans.”

WATCH: Alberta union video, in the works for weeks, calls on Tories to look in the mirror

So, what do Albertans think of his “look in the mirror” comment?

“He’s right,” said Edmontonian Bill Tracy.

“We voted for the conservative government for the last 43 years so it is our fault.” Tweet This

“They’ve been in power for that long and they are responsible for our financial situation. How many times have we heard the government say ‘we need to diversify’ and then the price of oil works its way back up again, everybody forgets about diversification, and then it falls and we say ‘we need to diversify.'”

“I think the government needs to look in the mirror,” added Tracy, “every one of them.”

At a news conference in Calgary Thursday afternoon, the finance minister and health minister defended Prentice.

Story continues below advertisement

“I think the premier’s comments were that we have a vision,” said Robin Campbell. “We’re going to move forward and everybody’s going to have to pitch in.”

“I don’t think it’s a national conversation. I think it’s been blown out of proportion” Tweet This

“The premier’s got a vision for the province,” added the finance minister. “I don’t think anyone can take away his passion for the province of Alberta.”

Stephen Mandel feels the comments may have been taken out of context. He interprets them as all of Alberta being in this together.

“When you look in the mirror and say, ‘how can I help?… How do we work as a team to fix this?’ I think that’s what the premier was after,” said the health minister.

“He’s been out in public and working incredibly hard…I think he’s doing a wonderful job in trying to explain to Albertans the challenges we face. I think one of his big messages is we’re all in this together.”

Neither Campbell nor Mandel said they’d heard the interview.

Here are some of the most popular tweets:

Got my mirror. I see Jim. I see Dave. I see Allison. I see Ed. I see Ralph. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans #ableg pic.twitter.com/GXdu0LSVpO — Garett Spelliscy (@GarettSpelliscy) March 5, 2015

Story continues below advertisement

#PrenticeBlamesAlbertans for living and breathing and doing stuff. — Y (@buongiorno9) March 5, 2015

PC blaming teachers and nurses for Alberta’s woes is like blaming bank clerks for the Great Depression. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — Paula Kerner (@pkerner777) March 5, 2015

If you didn’t get sick, emergency rooms wouldn’t be in crisis. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans #ableg — Jamie Post (@Jamie_Post) March 5, 2015

Ah, now I realize I was personally responsible for the $1.4 billion Prosperity Bonus squandered by Klein. Oops #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — Ruth Kelly (@RuthatVenture) March 5, 2015

We couldn’t resist! Here is a T-shirt that will remind you to look in the mirror. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans pic.twitter.com/Tk3V45BSnI — Frontier Metropolis (@FM_YYC) March 5, 2015

Story continues below advertisement

Breaking News: Millionaire Premier won’t raise taxes on millionaires, blames poor people for bad management by millionaire. #ableg #cdnpoli — Kathleen Smith (@KikkiPlanet) March 5, 2015

Is my blame per capita? Some other measure? Will there be a website that tells me my individual fault? #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — Duncan Wojtaszek (@phendrana) March 5, 2015

#PrenticeBlamesAlbertans for getting sick and requiring an education. — Sean Fowler (@canadasean21) March 5, 2015

#PrenticeBlamesAlbertans For investing in health care, and not gold chains pic.twitter.com/SwjmfxhL6x

— Curtis Mah (@CURTMAH) March 5, 2015

#PrenticeBlamesAlbertans for spending all night being clever on Twitter instead of looking in the mirror as He commanded. — Jeremy Klaszus (@klaszus) March 5, 2015

Story continues below advertisement

Corporate AB pulls Prentice aside & asks, “We don’t have to look in the mirror, right?” #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — Marty Chan (@Marty_Chan) March 5, 2015

“Look in the mirror”, Prentice tells everyone but Prentice. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans pic.twitter.com/TU19Xx6gi5 — sally poulsen (@SallyPoulsen) March 5, 2015

So #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans for over-crowding classrooms with their children? — Miguel T (@uber_miguel) March 5, 2015

Sorry for the drop in oil prices. Now that I know I (supposedly) control OPEC, I'll see what I can do. #PrenticeBlamesAlbertans — Luna (@LunaCee73) March 5, 2015

Story continues below advertisement

Later Thursday afternoon, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour said Albertans didn’t create the fiscal shortfall. Gil McGowan blames PC tax cuts and royalty rates.

“We’re not facing a budget crunch because of anything individual Albertans did,” McGowan said. “The real problem is that successive PC governments have blown holes in the revenue base we need to fund education, health care and other services that Albertans rely on.”

The premier’s office released a statement Thursday afternoon:

“Yesterday the Premier echoed something he has been communicating to Albertans for a couple of months now: Alberta is going through tough financial times and there will be challenges ahead for all Albertans. We’ve all been fortunate to live in this great province and enjoy the benefits of it. At the same time, we’ve been overspending as a province, and have not had the revenue to put aside for future Albertans-for our children, grandchildren and Albertans not yet born.

“In our current financial situation, the Premier believes the only way we’ll move forward is if we come together. The Premier is laying out a long-term financial plan to fix this problem-for good. The Budget which will be released on March 26, 2015 will detail the problems and our decisive action to address them over the long-term. Every Albertan will know where we are, where we are going and how we will get there-together.”

Story continues below advertisement