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But this Made-in-Alberta television advertisement is none of the above.

You decide if the following message has provided you — as a taxpayer — with valuable information.

Here is the full, verbatim text of this commercial: “We’ll do it ourselves. Albertans aren’t strangers to a challenge and we’re not strangers to overcoming them. While we work to get our oil from here to there, we’re also going to refine more, process more and create more of the oil-and-gas-based products the world needs now. Right here at home. The government’s new made-in-Alberta program for oil and gas development is an unmatched investment in ourselves. In modern industry. In training and retraining. With more jobs. Good jobs and prosperous communities. The future is coming and it’s made in Alberta. A message from the government of Alberta.”

Notley and Co. launched the Made-in-Alberta ad during a Dec. 11 media conference. According to the emailed response by a bureaucrat in Treasury Board and Finance, annual advertising spending by the government over the past three years has been about $8 million.

As for the cost of advertising, a government spokesperson wrote: “Fluctuations reflect public need for information from government, and extraordinary campaigns can be accounted for separately. For example, the Keep Canada Working campaign to raise public awareness of the need for export pipelines has a budget of $31 million.On the Made in Alberta campaign, the Alberta government has spent $1.1 million.”