Central Albertans were rallying in support of oil pipelines Saturday afternoon.

More than a hundred trucks took off from a meeting point near the Co-op Cardlock on Queens Drive in Red Deer in an effort to raise awareness about the state of the oil and gas sector in Alberta.

In particular, the oil and gas convoy, which was heading to Sylvan Lake and back, was protesting the lack of pipeline capacity in the province, according to organizers.

“Things aren’t good,” said Rick Bauer who came out to support his two sons who both work in oil and gas.

“These guys are hard up. There’s not much work out there.”

The work his sons had lined up after Christmas was canceled, he said.

“They don’t know when it’s coming back.”

Participants met at 10:30 a.m. before setting off at noon. The lineup of trucks honked and flashed headlights as they went.

The convoy headed north on 75th Ave. and then east on Highway 11A and south on Highway 2. It is traveling west along Highway 11 to Sylvan Lake where it went north on Highway 20, then east on 11A again to the QE2.

A pro-pipeline convoy organized by Innisfail resident Glen Carritt heading across Canada to Ottawa from Red Deer on Feb. 14th is protesting similar issues related to the oil and gas sector.