Majority Of Canadians Oppose The Carbon Tax
Support for carbon pricing remains high among Liberal, NDP, and Bloc voters
New polling from the Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians are split on the carbon tax. While a slim majority of Canadians oppose the program, the pricing system still maintains a healthy amount of support behind it, particularly among centre-left voters.
Let’s dive into the numbers and see exactly how Canadians feel about the carbon pricing program.
Want access to full articles, election models, polling deep-dives, and more?
Consider picking up a monthly subscription for as little as $5/month!
Little Over Half Of Canadians Oppose The Carbon Tax
When asked whether Canadians support or oppose the carbon tax (or equivalent pricing system in their province) 55% say they oppose it. Opposition is highest in the prairies, with 65% of Saskatchewanians, and 56% of Albertans, saying they strongly oppose the carbon tax.
Opposition to the pricing system is also high in British Columbia (66%), Manitoba (60%), and Ontario (56%).
Meanwhile, 45% of Canadians say they support the carbon pricing system. Support for the program is highest in Atlantic Canada (57%), and Quebec (60%), with nearly 1-in-5 saying they strongly support it in both regions.
When the numbers are broken down by past federal vote, the results are quite striking. Liberals, Bloc, and New Democrats all have a similar level of support for the carbon tax, with support ranging from 66-69% among those voters.
Conservatives voters are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. 92% of past Conservative voters say they oppose the carbon tax, with 78% saying they strongly oppose the pricing program.
Given the opposition to the carbon pricing system, it should come as no surprise that most Canadians would seek to limit or outright abolish the program.
Angus Reid asked Canadians whether they would increase, maintain, lower, or abolish the carbon tax if they had the opportunity to do so.
Among respondents, 44% said they would outright abolish the program, with 74% of Saskatchewanians, and 58% of Albertans sharing that position. Support for abolishing the carbon tax is also high in British Columbia (51%), Manitoba (49%), Atlantic Canada (48%), and Ontario (45%).
Another 15% of Canadians say they would keep the carbon tax, but lower how much individuals and businesses would have to pay compared to where it stands today.
27% of Canadians say they would keep the carbon tax where it is today, with 34% of Quebecers taking this position. Though Quebecers are also the most militant in their support for increasing the carbon tax as planned, with 24% of Quebecers sharing that position compared to 15% of Canadians.
Once again, the divide between centre-left and centre-right parties is quite evident. Among past Conservative voters, 82% say they would abolish the carbon tax, with another 12% saying they would lower the costs but keep the system in place. Only 5% say the carbon tax should be maintained at its current level.
Bloc, New Democratic, and Liberal voters are broadly on side with either keeping the carbon tax at its current level, or increasing it as planned. Around 1-in-5 voters on the centre-left say the carbon tax program should be abolished entirely, with another 15% saying the cost of the tax should be lowered.
Support for the carbon tax can likely be linked to whether voters believe climate change poses a serious threat or not to the planet.
More than 90% of NDP, Liberal and Bloc voters agree that climate change poses a very serious or serious threat to the planet. Contrast that to the 38% of Conservative voters who feel the same way, with 57% of them saying climate change poses no threat, or only a minor threat to the planet.
A strong majority of Canadians (63%) believe climate change is a fact and mostly caused by humans, with another 23% saying climate change is a fact, but mostly caused by natural changes.
Only 9% of Canadians believe climate change is a theory that has not been proven.