OTTAWA—The federal government says it will release more details on the current natural resources advertising blitz — after the campaign is over.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, who has been facing calls for more details since last year, said his department will release the full scope of the $22-million campaign to promote the oilsands and Canada’s natural resource sector in the federal government’s annual advertising report — either in 2015 or 2016, depending on the department’s accounting.

That means Canadians will only find out the full cost and details of the campaign after the money’s been spent.

“We have an annual report that is required,” Oliver said last week. “We put out the information that we’re required to put out at that time. But the essence of it is out there, and people can take a look at the ads.”

The department hopes the advertising blitz will increase foreign investment in Canada’s natural resource sector, promoting the country as a “responsible” resource exporter. Ottawa has hired the Canadian wing of FleishmanHillard, an international communications firm, to develop and roll out the ads in the United States, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

The feds have set aside $18 million for the media buys in those markets. The contract with FleishmanHillard for the first phase of the campaign, signed in December, is valued at $1.65 million. According to the department, ads are expected to begin running early this year.

Opposition MPs have been demanding more details on the campaign since the spring of 2013. Last week, the Star asked the department for a detailed breakdown of where the money will be spent, what countries within Europe and Asia are being specifically targeted, and whether the ads will promote Canada’s renewable resources in addition to the oilsands, mining and forestry industries.

In response, the department would only say that the campaign will be tailored to “key markets,” and targeted at “key media and national policy decision makers.” The department did not respond to further inquiries, and a request for further comment from Oliver’s office was not returned Friday.

“I’m shocked by the amount,” said Liberal MP David McGuinty, who has been a vocal critic of the Conservatives’ use of taxpayer-funded advertising.

“It’s basically propaganda. It’s not about trying to go out and attract investment into the country. . . This is an attempt by the government to push back and trying to do damage control, particularly in the context of Washington and the United States.”

The campaign is one of the largest undertaken by Natural Resources Canada, and comes at a time when Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have been aggressively lobbying for several major energy projects, including the Keystone XL pipeline.

It also comes at a time when the federal government’s spending on advertising has faced sharp criticism. Recent reports indicate Industry Canada spent $2.5 million advertising the Canada Jobs Grant, which currently does not exist — provincial and territorial governments have yet to sign on, worried that the revamped training program would cost their coffers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Industry Canada has also embarked on a $9-million advertising blitz promoting the government’s position on competition in the telecom market, something viewers at home have very little control over.

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The Conservatives’ spending on advertising peaked at $136.3 million in 2009-2010, and has hovered around $80 million for the last two years on record. According to Public Works, which compiles data on overall government advertising spending, numbers for 2012-2013 are expected within the next couple of months.