Jason Kenney RIPS left-wing leaders advocating for 'death of oil'

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney fired back at progressive leaders on Thursday after their comments on the oil industry. The leaders said the industry is dying and undeserving of a government bailout.

During an Edmonton News conference Kenney said, "Please stop kicking us while we’re down."

"We Albertans have been generous, and we will continue to be generous, but this, these attacks on our natural resource industries are unwarranted, they are divisive, they're, I believe, in a way—unCanadian at a time like this."

Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party parliamentary leader Elizabeth May said that the federal government should avoid helping the oil and gas industry with financial aid.

Kenney pointed out the billions of dollars that Alberta has sent to Quebec through federal taxes and said that Blanchet is "obsessed" with making attacks against Albertans.

"I just think it’s deeply regrettable that we would see national political leaders piling on Albertans and energy workers at a time of great trial for us," Kenney noted. “This is the opposite of leadership."

"The Canadian energy industry has done more than any in modern Canadian history to create jobs and prosperity, to fund social programs and government services and to unite Canadians with our equalization payments and transfers across the country, to which Alberta has contributed over $600 billion in recent decades, thanks largely to our energy resources."