Canadians Divided on Kyoto Ratification

Calgary, AB - As the debate over ratification of the Kyoto Protocol intensifies, a new Ipsos-Reid poll shows a country clearly divided over what their federal government should do. Half of Canadians (45%) say the Government of Canada "should withdraw from the Kyoto protocol and develop a made-in-Canada plan for reducing greenhouse gasses". Virtually the same number (44%) say that Canada should "ratify the Kyoto Protocol". Meanwhile, one in ten (9%) say they "don't know" what the federal government should do.

These overall results obscure a marked East-West divide on the issue. In the West (Manitoba westwards) a majority (57%) says the Government of Canada should withdraw from the protocol while 33% say the government should ratify the protocol. In contrast, four in ten (40%) Eastern Canadians (Ontario eastwards) say Canada should withdraw from the protocol while half (49%) say Canada should ratify the protocol.

In Alberta, where debate over the protocol has been the most intense, seven in ten (72%) say the federal government should withdraw while only one in five (22%) say the government should ratify. Quйbecers are on the other side of the issue, with a majority (55%) saying the federal government should ratify and one in three (35%) saying the government should withdraw.

Nationwide awareness of the Kyoto Protocol has increased 11 points since Mid-September (58%). Currently, seven in ten (69%) Canadians say they have "seen, heard or read anything about the Kyoto Accord or Protocol". But the East-West divide is also evident here — Western Canadians (80%) are 15 points more likely than Eastern Canadians (65%) to be aware of the protocol.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between October 29th and October 31st, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

To view the release and tables, please open the attached PDF files.