Face of Nation : Canadians are deeply concerned about climate change and are willing to make adjustments in their lives to fight it – but for many people, paying as much as even a monthly Netflix subscription in extra taxes is not one of them, a new poll suggests.
The survey results, the first in a series from a poll commissioned by News and conducted by Public Square Research and Maru/Blue to capture a portrait of the country in this election year, found that while nearly two-thirds of Canadians see fighting climate change as a top priority, half of those surveyed would not shell out more than $100 per year in taxes to prevent climate change, the equivalent of less than $9 a month.
The findings point to a population that is both gravely concerned about the heating of the planet but largely unprepared to make significant sacrifices in order to stave off an environmental crisis.
News poll, which was conducted online between May 31 and June 10, interviewing 4,500 Canadians who are members of the Maru/Blue panel, found that 19 per cent of Canadians listed climate change as the issue they are most worried about — second only to the cost of living, which topped the list at 32 per cent.
That concern appears to be deeply felt by many Canadians — and particularly younger Canadians — as 38 per cent of respondents said that “our survival depends on addressing” climate change and 25 per cent said it is a top priority. Another 20 per cent said “it’s important, but not a top priority,” while 11 per cent said it wasn’t a priority.
Only six per cent of respondents said they did not believe in climate change.
The poll also found 65 per cent of respondents agreeing with the statement “Canada is not doing enough to fight climate change,” topping out at 76 per cent in Quebec.
To help prevent climate change, three-quarters of Canadians polled said they were willing to make major (25 per cent) or some (50 per cent) changes in what they do in their daily lives. Only four per cent said they were not willing to do anything, while 15 per cent said they don’t need to make changes as they already have a small carbon footprint.
The poll asked those respondents who said they were willing to make changes in their lives what they were willing to do or had already done.
The most popular options were buying local (75 per cent) and reducing the thermostat (66 per cent), while 55 per cent said they were willing to purchase fewer things in general. Just under half, or 47 per cent, said they would be willing to drive less, while 37 per cent would take public transit or use a bicycle more often.
These options were the more convenient, less expensive and, in some cases, cost-saving ones when compared to the actions Canadians were less willing to take.
How best to tackle climate change is setting up to be a major issue in the October federal election. The Liberal government’s federal carbon tax, which has been or will be imposed on those provinces that don’t already have a similar plan in place (Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick), is designed to be offset by rebates that will be greater than the costs of the tax for all but the wealthiest households.
News poll found that 43 per cent of respondents support the federal carbon tax, compared to 47 per cent who are opposed. Opposition was strongest in Alberta and the Prairies and among Conservative voters.
The Conservatives have pledged to repeal the carbon tax if they win the October election. Andrew Scheer will reveal his party’s alternative plan for the environment on Wednesday. These latest polling numbers suggest that if he wants to have the chance to implement that plan, he will need to sound the right tone of concern for the warming planet — without asking Canadians to dig too deeply to stop it.
