Canadians Split on Transmountain Pipeline
But almost two-thirds
say it will help the economy
Toronto, May 22nd,
2018 – In a random sampling of public
opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1484 Canadian voters, 4 in 10 (TOP2: 42%)
say they approve of the Transmountain pipeline, with almost a third (28%)
saying they approve strongly, while a similar proportion (BTM2: 39%) say they
disapprove, with a quarter (24%) doing so strongly.
Respondents
most likely to (TOP2) approve of the pipeline include those aged 55-64 (49%) or
65+ (51%), males (53%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (53%), with some
college/university (47%), living in Alberta (74%) and supporting the
Conservatives (63%).
Respondents most likely to (BTM2)
disapprove include those aged 34 and younger (55%), females (43%), the least
wealthy (45%) or those earning $20,000-$40,000 (45%), the least educated (41%)
or those with a post-graduate degree (44%), living in Québec (56%), and
supporting the NDP (67%).
It’s worth noting that half (49%) of
those living in British Columbia approve of the pipeline, while 4 in 10 (42%)
disapprove.
Majority believe that the Transmountain pipeline will help the
economy
Majority of Canadians (58%) think that
the pipeline will help the economy. 1 in 10 (12%) believe that the pipeline
will hurt the economy, while one-fifth (19%) say it will neither help nor hurt
the economy.
Respondents most likely to say that the
pipeline will help the economy include those aged 35-44 (61%), 55-64 (61%) or
65+ (62%), males (69%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (67%) or the most wealthy
(67%), with some college/university (62%), living in
Alberta (83%), and supporting the Conservatives (77%).
Of those that approve (TOP2) of the
Transmountain pipeline, (91%) say the pipeline will help the economy.
Respondents most likely to say that the
pipeline will hurt the economy include those aged 34 and younger (16%), earning
$60,000-$80,000 (21%), with some college/university (14%) or those with a
post-graduate degree (15%), living in Québec (17%) or the prairies (MB/SK) (15%),
and supporting the Green party (25%) or the Bloc Québécois (27%).
Of those that disapprove (BTM2) of the
Transmountain pipeline a third (34%) say the pipeline will neither help nor
hurt the economy.
A third of Canadians say the pipeline
will hurt the environment, a third think it will have no effect
Just over a third of Canadians (37%) say
that the pipeline will hurt the environment, while an equal proportion (37%)
say it will have no effect on the environment, neither helping nor hurting. One-sixth
of (15%) Canadians say that the pipeline will help the environment.
Respondents most likely to say that the
pipeline will hurt the environment are those aged 34 and younger (55%), females
(41%), the least wealthy (51%), with some college/university (42%) or those
with a post-graduate degree (42%), living in Québec (39%) or Ontario (42%), and
supporting the NDP (66%).
Of those that disapprove (BTM2) of the
pipeline two-thirds (65%) say the pipeline will hurt the environment.
Respondents most likely to express that
the pipeline will help the environment are those aged 65+ (21%), males (19%), earning
$80,000-$100,000 (23%), the least educated (18%), some college/university
(17%), or those with a post-graduate degree (15%), living in Alberta (28%), and
supporting the Conservatives (24%).
Respondents most likely to say the
pipeline will neither help nor hurt the environment are those aged 45-54 (46%),
males (43%), earning $60,000-$80,000 (44%) or the most wealthy (46%), living in
Alberta (43%) or British Columbia (45%), and supporting the Conservatives
(49%).
"It's clear that Canadians are divided on the Transmountain pipeline, with equal numbers saying they approve and disapprove of the project," Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. "But what’s also clear is
that a majority of Canadians feel that the pipeline will boost the economy. When
it comes to the pipeline’s effect on the environment, however, Canadian opinion
isn’t nearly as definitive, with a third of Canadians saying the project will
hurt the environment, while another third says it will have no effect at all.”
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum
Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
