The chief of staff to Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals is also the head of the political third-party advertiser Alberta Resource Advocacy Foundation (ARAF). The group’s chief financial officer and former director is named in provincial lobbying records actively lobbying the energy ministry on more than two dozen accounts.

Vitor Marciano currently serves as Energy Minister Brian Jean’s chief of staff. In his decades of political activism, Marciano has held several positions with provincial and national conservative parties, as well as working for third-party advocacy groups, including Alberta Proud and Canada Strong and Proud, also known as Proud to be Canadian. He is currently listed as the primary contact for ARAF.