Three-fifths of Canadians believe Canada does a poor job at developing a shared long-term vision for its energy future, according to a poll conducted by Nanos Research on behalf of the CD Howe Institute and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. This percentage is a significant rise from 2021 — when 44% of Canadians held such negative views of the government’s handling of Canada’s energy future — according to the poll. The CD Howe Institute said the poll indicates decisionmakers are not finding the right balance between energy affordability and climate action. When asked to prioritize energy needs such as affordability, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reliability, and safety, it found 39% of Canadians rank the first option as the most important need in the next five years. Affordability and reliability were most frequently ranked in the top three needs, and emissions reduction was often ranked fourth. The CD Howe Institute found the Canadian government’s recent climate policies are out of step with public opinion. This was most evident in Canadians’ attitudes toward the carbon tax. Canadians were almost twice as likely to oppose (37%) or somewhat oppose (18%) the recent carbon tax increase than to support (10%) or somewhat support (22%) it. The majority of Canadians support or somewhat support building new export facilities for low-carbon hydrogen (76%) and natural gas (65%). It said this should suggest to policymakers there is significant political space for increasing Canada’s influence in the world through increased energy production and exports. Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said in March the future of major oil and gas companies is in alternative energy. READ MORE: WATCH: Guilbeault says future of Irving Oil, other oil and gas is in ‘alternatives’ Guilbeault responded to a reporter’s question about comments made by New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs that due to Guilbeault’s climate policies, Irving Oil might be forced to sell. Before declining to comment on the matter, Guilbeault said the world is heading to decarbonization and pushed the Canadian government’s agenda of supporting renewable energy. The poll was conducted online using a representative randomized sample of 1,237 Canadian adults from April 16 to 18. No margin of error was assigned to it.
