In a 2017 survey of 1,518 Canadians conducted by Abacus Data Inc. 84% of respondents said they feel the USA made the wrong decision in exiting the Paris Climate Change Accord.
In a survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted by Nanos Research, nearly two-thirds of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that the federal government should proceed with climate regulations, including carbon pricing, regardless of the direction taken by the USA. Support for Canada’s plan to institute new climate regulations was broken down regionally as: Atlantic 70%, Quebec 73.2%, Ontario 60.7%, Prairies 51.5%, BC 74.3%.
In a 2017 survey of 1,518 Canadians conducted by Abacus Data Inc., 84% of respondents said that the USA made the wrong decision in exiting the Paris Climate Change Accord. 84% also said Canada should remain committed to the Accord. Unusually, these views crossed partisan lines. Even a majority of Canadian Conservative voters, agreed the USA decision was unwise (61%) and that Canada should stay in the Accord (62%).
The main reason why those polled supported continuing climate action, ‘was to prevent environmental calamities and to do the right thing by future generations’. Increasingly, Abacus’ research shows Canadians favoring a shift from non-renewable fossil fuel energy as part of a sound economic strategy for our future. By a margin of 3 to 1, the survey showed Canadians see that economies that do the best in the future will be those shifting to cleaner energy.
The USA’s position on the Paris Accord appears to be helping clarify for Canadians what side of the argument they don’t want to be on. Their data shows that support is broad and deep for Canada’s government to press ahead with the Agreement and that the audience for political leaders who doubt climate change is happening is small (and shrinking).
Learn More
To review a listing of Abacus’ most recent surveys
http://abacusdata.ca/thoughts-findings/ July 6, 2017
http://abacusdata.ca/canadians-paris-accord-a-good-idea-trump-wrong-to-exit/
More detail on tabulations for Globe and Mail survey can be found at http://www.nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T729.pdf