CALGARY — Alberta Premier Ralph Klein will travel to Ontario and Quebec next week to try and prove to the rest of Canada that his oil-rich province known for its strong stances on health-care reform and gay marriages is both "caring and sharing."

The image-building tour that includes a speech to the Toronto Empire Club on Wednesday and an address to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Friday will be on the back of Klein's long-anticipated release of his health-care reform plans.

"It's not particularly about health care," Klein said Friday of his tour. "It's more about Alberta and how we are perceived in Confederation.

"We think that now is the time to dispel some of the myths about Alberta in that we are awash with money and that it was strictly due to oil and gas that we were able to retire our debt earlier."

Klein is also slated to meet with Quebec Premier Jean Charest before his speech in Montreal.

"We are a strong contributor, and a meaningful contributor to Confederation and we intend to fulfill our role that we're a caring and sharing province," he said.

"We send a lot to Ottawa to in turn be distributed amongst other provinces in the way of equalization payments -- so I think we need to tell the story of Alberta's contribution to the Canadian mosaic."

But Klein is likely to face some tough questioning next week on some more contentious issues that his Alberta government has been promoting.

Before heading to Ontario, the Alberta premier will be in Calgary on Tuesday to lay out his government's new vision for health-care reform.

Klein told The Canadian Press last month during a year-end interview that he personally believes Albertans should be able to purchase elective surgeries or health services, such as orthopedic work, in their own province.

And he admitted Friday that his plans were likely to "raise temperatures in Ottawa," referring to years worth of clashes between Alberta and the federal government over their different views on the future of health care in Canada.

During Alberta's provincial election last November, Klein was accused by the opposition parties of having a "hidden agenda" for health-care privatization that he refused to share during the campaign.

Klein denied the charge but his Progressive Conservative party's majority did lose ground, slipping 13 seats to 61 in the 83-seat legislature.

Another controversial stance by the Alberta government has been its continued opposition to gay marriage. And while Klein is not expected to talk about it next week on his trip to Ontario and Quebec, his staff concede that they expect the issue to come up.