A new national poll shows half of Canadians support building a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast — and that opposition remains limited — as Prime Minister Mark Carney moves ahead with early-stage plans to revive the country’s stalled energy ambitions.The Leger poll, conducted Dec. 5–7, found 50% of Canadians support the privately financed project, while only 17% oppose it. The rest were either neutral or unsure. .Support is strongest where the economic impacts are most obvious: Alberta (66%), as well as among men (58%), older Canadians (56%), and Conservative voters (71%). Even in Ontario and BC — provinces where pipeline politics have long been fraught — support sits at about 50%.Quebec remains the lone outlier, with just 37% in favour..Public opinion arrives as Ottawa and Alberta have signed a memorandum of understanding laying out the path for a new pipeline. Carney has framed the deal as part of a “national interest” push to expand market access beyond the United States — a move industry leaders say is long overdue after years of project cancellations and delays.Canadians appear to believe pipelines still matter, 45% said new pipelines are “extremely” or “very” important to Canada’s economic future, and another 34% said they’re at least somewhat important.Only 7% said pipelines aren’t important at all..And while the federal government has long faced criticism for regulatory creep and slow project approvals, the poll suggests many Canadians believe a new pipeline can still be built responsibly:56% are confident provincial governments can be properly consulted.53% believe environmental protections can be upheld.51% believe local communities can be respected.49% believe indigenous rights can be respected.Still, respondents appear unsure the federal government can actually deliver on such a complex project.“I see a lot of potential collisions here,” said Andrew Enns, Leger’s executive vice-president for Central Canada told the Canadian Press.“Canadians are starting to get a little bit anxious or losing a little bit of patience in terms of the government’s ability to really move forward on some of these big announcements.”He said the results suggest a long, messy federal–provincial process ahead: “There’ll be a lot of negotiations and some interesting twists and turns on this before we see it start to move.”When asked whether indigenous support in BC should be required before construction begins, 68% of Canadians said yes..BC First Nations remain divided on energy infrastructure, with some communities actively courting equity stakes and others opposed to bitumen projects outright.Ottawa’s new power to fast-track certain regulatory reviews under Bill C-5 (the One Canadian Economy Act) is also getting cautious approval.55% support accelerating the pipeline if Ottawa designates it a “national interest” project.26% oppose fast-tracking.Support for quicker approvals is highest among Conservative voters (73%), followed by Liberals (61%) — a sign Canadians are still looking for economic momentum despite years of stalled major projects.“A pipeline seems to fit into those plans,” Enns said.
