Over six in ten (63%) Canadians are in favour of increasing carbon sequestration incentive measures to reduce GHG emissions from oil and natural gas extraction.
Montreal, QC, August 22, 2023 — An Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute finds that despite the fact that many Canadians can’t or don’t want to pay more taxes to help fight the climate change, they are generally in favour of the government increasing carbon sequestration incentive measures to reduce GHG emissions and two-thirds (67%) also support developing new oil and gas infrastructure leading to ports in British Columbia or Eastern Canada in order to allow these Canadian resources to reach new markets in Europe and Asia. This is particularly true for Alberta residents (86%).
This research also demonstrates that geopolitical issues remain in the spotlight as six in ten Canadians (63%) believe that their province should extract its own natural gas in order to export some to Europe and reduce its dependency on Russian gas. Again, we find higher levels of support in Alberta (77%) as well as in other Western provinces (Prairies 68%, and BC 64%).
Steady interest for oil and gas extraction in Quebec
Half (51%) of Quebecers are favorable to extracting Quebec’s own oil resource as opposed to relying on imports, with this proportion rising among the youngest group of residents (57% for those aged 18-34 vs. 47% for those 55+). Conversely, three in ten (30%) Quebecers believe the province should continue to import 100% of the oil it needs, consistent with 2022.
In line with last year, eight in ten Quebecers (78%) prefer to see their province import oil from Western Canada compared to other source countries. Slightly fewer (7%, -2 pts) would rather import oil from the United States.
Based on Hydro-Québec's electricity surpluses projected to run out around 2027, six in ten (62%) Quebecers agree that independent private producers should be allowed to sell electricity directly to companies to complement Hydro-Québec’s offer.
A detailed report containing all results for this survey on important energy matters for Canada can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between the 1st and 4th of August 2023, on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute. For this survey, a sample of 1,163 Canadian adults aged 18+ years was interviewed, including an oversample of 408 residents of Quebec. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ 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.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sébastien Dallaire
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Canada
General Manager, Ipsos Quebec
[email protected]
About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.
Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).
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