Following a summer of record-setting heatwaves and devastating forest fires, it has become clear to Canadians that something needs to be done about climate change. But new Ipsos polling suggests they are divided on whether fixing climate change should come at the cost of the country’s economy.
The Ipsos poll, conducted exclusively for Global News, also found that the issue of climate change had become a primary issue during this year’s election, ranking top five among respondents.
“The underlying current of the data here is that a lot of people like to treat the environment and the economy as a zero sum game, as mutually exclusive. But it seems to me that Canadians refuse to believe that’s the case,” said Ipsos Vice President Sean Simpson.
“They believe that we can, in fact, move towards greener policies, move towards actions that help stem climate change while at the same time growing the economy in a responsible manner.”
4:58 What can Canadians do to avert climate crisis?
What can Canadians do to avert climate crisis? – Aug 11, 2021
Data from the poll, which interviewed 1,500 Canadians online over the weekend, found that 77 per cent of those surveyed said the country needs to do more to reverse its effects, but 51 per cent said the federal government needs to “balance economic considerations with environmental efforts.”
Meanwhile, 35 per cent of respondents said they believed Canada should do everything in its power to fight climate change, and 13 per cent said they felt “no urgency” to correct it if the country’s economy has to suffer. That said, 58 per cent agreed combatting climate change would require solutions that would negatively impact the economy.
Roughly 75 per cent of Canadians surveyed, regardless of party affiliation, said they could get on board with a carbon tax “if they knew the money collected was going directly to initiatives to combat climate change.”
Conservatives were most likely to say that Canada needed to find a balance between the economy and the environment at 67 per cent, the poll found, in contrast to the 48 per cent those who identified as Liberal voters and 42 per cent who said they would vote NDP.
1:43 Canada Election: Singh blasts Trudeau’s record on climate change at same site where Trudeau joined 2019 climate protest
Canada Election: Singh blasts Trudeau’s record on climate change at same site where Trudeau joined 2019 climate protest
Similarly, Conservative voters were also more likely to say that it wasn’t worth destabilizing the economy over at 19 per cent, versus three per cent of Liberals and seven per cent of NDP voters surveyed. Meanwhile, Green Party voters were the most likely to to “favour combating climate change, even if the economy slows” at 60 per cent, while 51 per cent of NDP voters, 47 per cent of Liberal voters and 14 per cent of Conservative voters agreed.
Simpson noted there was no generational divide on these beliefs.
“Age is no longer the primary determinant of whether you’re green (not the party), but in your in your attitudes and beliefs,” he said.
That growing consensus could be attributed to the country’s spate of extreme weather.
Eighty-four per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed the “extended heat warnings, drought and wildfires” this year were more cause for alarm than they were five years ago while 77 per cent said it made them more concerned about climate change.
This could also be because more Canadians are being impacted by climate change this year. Sixty-six per cent of Canadians surveyed said they were directly affected by extreme weather this year, and 81 per cent said they felt like their government should provide those who have been directly impacted with more support.
“You look out the window, you walk outside, you’re seeing funny sun because you know there’s smoke in the air,” Simpson said. “That creates a sense of urgency.”
6:25 The Impact of Climate Change on Atlantic Canada
The Impact of Climate Change on Atlantic Canada – Aug 11, 2021
Those surveyed in Ontario and Alberta were least likely to agree that it was more of a concern that it was five years ago, that it made them more concerned about climate change or that climate change directly impacted them.
“Alberta is always the least likely to to say that climate change is urgent. It’s not that they don’t believe it. It just means that maybe those economic considerations are a little bit more important for for Albertans,” Simpson said.
He added that Ontario was one of the hardest hit provinces throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which could shift their priorities.
“The economy may be more top of mind for Ontarians than it is elsewhere,” Simpson noted.
He added that the conversation about climate change has shifted since the last election.
Only 27 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed that climate change activists are “overreacting.” This is down five points from 2019. In contrast, there is a growing number of Canadians who believe that Canada contributes little to the world’s pollution at 34 per cent, up seven points from 2019.
While Canadians have made it clear that climate change needs to be addressed, there is also a growing number that believe it may be too late to reverse its effects.
Forty-nine per cent of Canadians surveyed — up eight points from 2019 — said they believed there was no way to “significantly reduce carbon emissions” within the next ten years, no matter how hard anyone tried.
2:00 B.C. wildfire smoke socks in Alberta again; Calgary with second-smokiest summer on record
B.C. wildfire smoke socks in Alberta again; Calgary with second-smokiest summer on record – Aug 16, 2021
According to the poll, 74 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed that “Canada has an obligation to lead on climate change globally.” This was highest among Bloc Quebecois and Liberal voters, and true for most respondents, regardless of party affiliate — with the exception of those who said they would vote People’s Party of Canada.
“In a sense, the People’s Party is is a hodge-podge of maybe contrarians, maybe climate change deniers,” Simpson said.
“But, of course, they only represent about two per cent of the population at this point in time, so I don’t think they’ll have a big impact on the outcome of the election.”
A sample of n = 1,500 was interviewed online, via the Ipsos I-Say panel and non-panel sources, and respondents earn a nominal incentive for their participation. Quotas and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos polls which include non-probability sampling is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
