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If anyone had told Premier Rachel Notley a year ago that she would receive two standing ovations within two weeks — in Calgary and Vancouver, no less — she likely would have enjoyed a good laugh.

But that’s what happened, with the second tribute occurring Thursday following a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s Energy Forum where Notley again made the case for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion project.

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And the premier wasn’t the only government official to bring that message.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr kicked off the forum by connecting the dots on the importance of a strong energy sector in the transition to a low-carbon economy. He stressed how industry funds investments in innovation, develops new ways to increase the use of clean energy and therefore decrease the environmental footprint of traditional fossil fuels.

“Those who want to close the oilsands down tomorrow overlook both the disruption it would cause to Canadian families and the loss of revenue it provides for clean energy and innovation,” he said. “Those who believe that stopping (the Trans Mountain expansion) is a win, overlook what we have lost: jobs, income, investment in the energy transition and opportunity.”