Just a week after Valérie Plante was forced into a public mea culpa after speaking in English to a group of British tech leaders, the Mayor of Calgary has had to defend himself after speaking in French at a rally.

At a pro-pipeline event in downtown Calgary on Monday, Naheed Nenshi began to speak in French, in an attempt to speak directly to Quebecers and Premier François Legault.

The crowd almost immediately booed, and an exasperated Nenshi quickly switched back to English, saying, "let me give you a little bit of advice...if you want someone to listen to you, you have to speak their language."

Eventually, the crowd calmed down and Nenshi resumed speaking in French, saying, "it is important for us to protect our environment. It is important for us to build Canada. It is important to us that all Canadians have the opportunity to prosper."

The mayor of Alberta's largest city also praised Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume, who Nenshi said makes significant efforts to support the oil industry within Quebec.

Tensions between Alberta and Quebec have been running high since François Legault made clear that a revival of the Energy East pipeline project would not receive the support of his new CAQ government.

Legault's description of Alberta oil as "dirty energy" also drew the ire of many political leaders in the province, including Nenshi and finance minister Joe Ceci.