We’re at Calgary’s legendary Blackfoot Diner.

We’re sitting one booth over from the lady playing Johnny Cash on the jukebox while the premier eats his steak and eggs and talks about cutting the dough this province’s taxpayers spend on trade offices around the world.

Premier Jim Prentice says it’s all part of the bigger picture, not bleak, not booming, but real.

Oil is at $75 a barrel, the price dropping more than 30% since mid-year.

“In the world we’re in now there’s got to be a lot of discipline around the Alberta government’s expenses, a lot of discipline,” says Prentice.

“It’s not something people have been accustomed to hearing but they’re hearing it now, loud and clear.”

“Right now we’re focusing on the spending, making sure there are no increases, paring things back, getting things under control internally before we deal with whatever it is we’re going to have to deal with.”

For the current year it’s about coming in at or below budget. Going forward seeing no growth in the province’s budget is “the minimum condition.”

The premier mentions the prospect of less spending, adding the well-worn reminder once again: “We have $75 oil.”

Then there are the province’s trade offices. It’s what we’re jawing over this day.

Prentice promised he’d give the offices the once-over if he got the top job.

The former premier loved her trade offices and in one year jacked up the tab for them from $8.1 million to $11.8 million.

Well, Prentice took the reins in September. The review of the trade offices is done. A decision on where the province goes from here will made by the end of the year.

The bottom-line verdict.

“There will be significant reductions,” he says, of the cost.

Prentice says he recognizes Alberta operates in a global economy.

“But we have to be frugal and smart about how we do that and what offices we have and the representatives we have.”

Some moves are already clear.

The guy heading up the Ottawa office finished his tour of duty last month and he isn’t being replaced. His salary and cash and non-cash benefits came in at $360,414 a year.

The office also had two people on staff. Now there is one and the Prentice government is negotiating with other provinces to share office space.

There is a new person in Washington, former Tory MP Rob Merrifield.

He’ll oversee the action in both the U.S. capital and Ottawa.

While Alberta’s last man in Washington made $360,600 in salary and benefits, Merrifield makes about $59,000 a year less for doing more work.

The premier doesn’t see the need for a full-time gig in our capital. Alberta has all those Conservative MPs in Ottawa, including the prime minister.

Prentice expects the total dollars going to pay for covering trade talk in Ottawa and Washington will be “less than half the cost of what it used to be.”

As you already know, Merrifield scores no severance and is donating his MP pension to charity while on this job.

Diplomat Ron Hoffmann came on board to take a look at trade offices.

He’ll be taking over in Asia from long-time Tory bigwig Gary Mar.

Mar is ringing up $423,107 in cash and benefits this year. Hoffmann will not make as much. His yearly base salary is $243,000 but a final figure for total benefits is not yet available.

Alberta has eight Asia offices.

“There will not be as many,” says Prentice.

As for elsewhere, Prentice sees Chicago as important for the oilpatch and Mexico City ”may prove to be useful.”

He will “certainly assess” what’s up with Munich and London.

Prentice also looks back to when he first set eyes on the province’s books after taking over from Alison Redford.

“There was inadequate attention to the containment of expenses and inadequate attention to realizing these are taxpayer dollars and you have to be careful where you spend them.”

Redford and her larger-than-life tastes are never far away.

The premier mentions he’s had only one out-of-province trip. That was to Vancouver on WestJet.

He still hasn’t submitted an expense claim for such pursuits as chowing down on steak and eggs at a truck stop diner.

“I don’t even know how you would submit them, for meals and things. I’ve never submitted anything,” says Prentice.

“I’m not saying there will never be an expense claim. I’m just saying you need to be careful about these kind of things. It’s the responsibility of the premier to set the tone.”

Yes, not being careful about these kind of things had a 43-year dynasty on the ropes — battered and bruised and almost down for the count.