The 'war room' is back and spending millions more to defend Alberta's oil and gas industry

New documents outline a massive increase in public funding for the Canadian Energy Centre's campaign to change attitudes toward Alberta's oil and gas.

An agency founded by Alberta's United Conservative government to fight what it calls misinformation about the province's industry and otherwise known as the "war room," the centre's most recent annual report shows it signed a $22-million contract last fiscal year for a media campaign. That's about three times its entire government grant from the previous year.

"There's a lot of things the government could do with that money," said Opposition New Democrat energy critic Kathleen Ganley.

The spending is mentioned only in the line item "RFP — Agency of Record" in the centre's annual report, filed late last month.

The ad campaign was to take place in the U.S., Europe and the United Kingdom and Canada.

Little information is available on how the money was spent or what results it generated. It's not clear which campaigns are still in progress.

Most of what information exists comes from documents filed with the U.S. Foreign Agent Registry. Those documents are detailed and specific. They show, for example, Alberta spent $159,593.51 on ads in the Wall Street Journal.

They also include contracts signed between the Alberta government and DDB, a marketing and communication company with offices in Edmonton and Washington.

The contract indicates that Alberta spent $1.7 million out of a budget of $3.8 million trying to convince Americans that fossil fuels aren't going anywhere and the province's industry is a well-regulated and safe supplier.

"Experts agree that even with the most aggressive push for renewable energy the transition to a low-carbon economy is decades away," says one ad.

"When America chooses Canadian oil, it helps provide reliable, responsible, and affordable energy that is committed to environmental excellence."

The U.S. spending included $150,000 US for "rapid response media criticism."

The contract between Alberta and DDB stipulates ad spending in Europe and the United Kingdom. In the centre's report, that spending is budgeted at $5.7 million Cdn.

The contract also spells out $22 million for campaigns within Canada, although no further information about where and how that money was spent is included.