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At least 1,000 oil workers, executives, unemployed, children, Indigenous leaders poured in front of the provincial government building on Tuesday to chant: “Build that pipe. Build that pipe. Build that pipe.’

This is no Vancouver, where demonstrators are on speed dial. This is the heart of the tight-lipped oil industry, where many never showed up at a rally before, and those who still have jobs keep their heads low.

Yet they came in suits, wheelchairs, strollers and waved signs like: Trans Mountain Keeps Vancouver Airport Flying, The World Needs More Canada, Alberta Oil Most Ethical In the World.

Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia News

For Trudeau, that political uncertainty already has many names. They include Jason Kenney, the leader of the United Conservative Party, who is running to be Alberta’s next premier and drew big applause when he said: “Are you folks ready to fight for Alberta? Are you ready to fight for our country’s economic future?

“Friends, this is not just about a pipeline. This is about what country we live in. If we can’t get this project done, it tells us that we are no longer a country based on the rule of law. It tells us we are no longer a country that believes in internal free trade. It tells us that we are no longer that, we are turning our back on the future of prosperity. This isn’t just a fight for one project. This is not just a fight for the energy industry. It is a fight for Canada.”

Kenney blamed foreign-funded eco-activists for pressuring Trudeau to kill the Northern Gateway pipeline, the Energy East pipeline, surrender when former U.S. President Barack Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline, and for doing nothing to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built.

This is not just a fight for the energy industry. It is a fight for Canada Jason Kenney

If the obstructionism is allowed to continue, Canada will lose hundreds of billions of dollars of value from its energy deposits, the ability to pay off debts, future pensions and education, while dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and Iran gain market share, Kenney told the crowd.

“If enemies of our economic progress succeed, we will simply hand a monopoly over the growing global energy market to some of the world’s worst regimes,” he said. “This isn’t just about our economy. This is about human rights, and the world is counting on Canada to win this fight.”

But it’s not just Kenney who poses a political threat. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is so exasperated she’s putting on the table tougher measures that will deepen the divide with British Columbia, which has gotten away with years of oilpatch sabotage amid federal complacency.