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Despite the hubbub, organizers know difficult topics will be on the minds of many in attendance, as challenges continue to plague the energy sector in Alberta.

“It’s been such a long, painful downturn, especially here in Calgary. So I’d be a fool to say that’s not a factor,” said Nick Samain, vice-president of dmg events, which runs the show.

“I think in the past, the Global Petroleum Show may have been – I don’t think avoiding that – but maybe not shining the spotlight on all aspects of the industry. We don’t just want those issues to be talked about. We want them to be debated.

“Whether it’s a policy on the political side of things, whether it’s a global economy and those shifts, whether it’s bigger questions — is gas a transitional fuel or the clean fuel — those are things that we need to get out there.”

There’s only so much time you can spend on having a pity party. David Hood

On Friday, RBC Economics published its provincial outlook for Alberta, which noted that last fall’s oil price tumble “still reverberates” across the province’s economy, as evidenced by scaled back oil production and bruised industry confidence.

Figures released Friday by Statistics Canada also showed that full-time job positions in Alberta fell by 21,300 (1.1 per cent) in May as the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 per cent.

The total number of jobs in the province declined by 2,200 last month, despite 19,000 more part-time jobs (4.6 per cent). While total jobs were up by 0.9 per cent compared to this time last year, full-time positions were still down by 0.3 per cent, with sectors like oil and gas, agriculture, finance, insurance and real estate taking a hit in May.