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As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to head to Wild Rose Country next week, the federal finance minister says the province could be entitled to nearly $250 million from a seldom-used program designed to help ease Alberta’s economic pain caused by falling oil prices.

The Alberta government could be eligible for payments under the 50-year-old fiscal stabilization program, designed to compensate provinces that suffer steep drops in revenues from one year to the next, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Friday.

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“I spoke yesterday with the Alberta minister of finance to see how we could work together and I’m pleased to say that he understands that there’s a stabilization fund that Alberta can apply for,” Morneau said.

“The potential is up to $250 million. Should they apply, we would work expeditiously to move forward on that request.”

In Calgary, Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci said he has been speaking with his federal counterpart about possible assistance Ottawa could offer the province as it goes through a steep economic downturn, one that has seen the province lose thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in government revenues.