Ottawa is vowing relief for struggling Albertans as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares for a western visit.

Trudeau will meet with Premier Rachel Notley Wednesday in Edmonton, and again Thursday in Calgary.

The prime minister told a CBC forum Sunday he’s very aware of the “tough times” facing Alberta, as well as Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, because of tanking oil prices.

“The country is going to be there for you,” said Trudeau in response to a question from an energy worker from Alberta.

“The federal government is going to be a strong and active partner to help Alberta through this tough time.”

In the House of Commons Monday, Employment Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk was pressed to bring forward immediate reforms to the employment insurance system around accessibility, level and duration of benefits to help laid-off Canadians, especially those in the energy sector.

“There is no doubt ... the employment insurance system needs modernizing,” said Mihychuk.

“We are in the process of doing so. We will soon see immediate changes to parts of the EI system and longer-term systemic changes in the years coming up.”

Alberta’s employment rate was 7% in December, way up from 4.8% a year earlier. Alberta lost 19,600 jobs in 2015, its single-worst year since the 1982 recession.

During the CBC interview, Trudeau told Danny Strilchuk, a 30-year-old oilfield worker from Edmonton, to “hang in there” while his work hours have been significantly cut.

Trudeau said his trip to Alberta will include meetings with community and business leaders to talk about potential solutions.

The prime minister said there will be “concrete measures” in the upcoming federal budget that will help Alberta, and the government has promised accelerated infrastructure spending to help stimulate the economy.

As well, Ottawa is interested in working with the province on new skills training initiatives to help laid-off workers, said Trudeau.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said last week that Alberta could be entitled to nearly $250-million from a fiscal stabilization program designed to help provinces that suffer a steep decline in revenue from one year to the next.

Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose led off question period Monday by calling for the Trudeau government to vote for a Tory resolution backing TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East project.

“Workers and families in Canada’s resource sector are feeling completely abandoned ... by the prime minister,” she said.

The motion later went down to defeat in the House of Commons.

The Notley government has given tentative backing to the federal regulatory changes — if they result in projects moving forward.

— With files from Jason Fekete and Chris Varcoe