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“When we’re in session we see a lot of folks in Edmonton, so I wanted to get out,” Anderson noted.

Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous spent the last week of August in areas hard hit by the government’s coal phase-out plan— Hanna, Forestburg, Parkland County and Leduc County.

“This period of transition has caused a lot of anxiety and stress … We want them to know we’ve got their backs,” he said. “They need to hear from government directly.”

Bilous’s summer also included trips outside the province to Tacoma, Wash., to discuss the provincial implications of NAFTA re-negotiations and a stop in Silicon Valley to promote U.S.-Alberta trade.

“We are turning a corner; the economy is starting to rebound,” he said. “We want to put Alberta on the map; it is the best place to invest.”

United Conservative Party interim leader Nathan Cooper said rural communities still feel ignored.

“They have a lot of concerns … particularly about not seeing government,” he said Friday. “We’ve spent a lot of time this summer travelling the province and listening to Albertans and trying to get a sense of where they are at.”

The government’s climate change strategy and the carbon tax are particularly contentious, he added. “We heard there is still a lot of fear and concern round the direction or the role the government is taking on the economy or jobs.”

Seniors and Housing Minister Lori Sigurdson said she toured across Alberta visiting towns including Peace River, Athabasca and Mayerthorpe in August.