The proportion of British Columbians who think the provincial government should stop the project has dropped to 28%.
Vancouver, BC [June 21, 2023] – More than half of British Columbians and two thirds of Albertans believe the federal government was right in re-approving the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of representative provincial samples, 54% of British Columbians agree with the decision, up three points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in July 2022. Two thirds of Albertans (67%, -2) also agree with the re-approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
In British Columbia, support for the project is highest in Northern BC (62%), followed by Southern BC (61%), the Fraser Valley (58%), Metro Vancouver (53%) and Vancouver Island (52%).
In Alberta, there is virtually no variation in the perceptions of residents of the Calgary CMA (67%), Edmonton CMA (also 67%) and the rest of the province (68%).
Significant majorities of Albertans (79%, +1) and British Columbians (71%, =) believe the Trans Mountain pipeline will create hundreds of jobs for residents of their province.
The public is decidedly more skeptical about the effect the Trans Mountain pipeline will have on fuel costs. Fewer than two-in-five Albertans (37%, -3) and British Columbians (36%, -1) expect to experience lower gas prices as a result of the project’s re-approval.
“Albertans are particularly critical of the federal government on the Trans Mountain file, with 60% (-1) saying they are disappointed with Ottawa’s performance,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Fewer than half of British Columbians (48%, -3) share this feeling.”
Only 20% of Albertans (-5) and 28% of British Columbians (-5) think their provincial government should do anything necessary to ensure that the Trans Mountain expansion does not happen. This is a significant change in British Columbia from a Research Co. survey conducted in June 2019, when 41% of the province’s residents called for government action to stop the project.
One-in-four Albertans (25%, -3) and more than a third of British Columbians (36%, -4) believe the Trans Mountain expansion threatens the health and safety of residents.
British Columbians remain divided on whether this would be a good time to reconsider the Enbridge Northern Gateway—a proposal to build a new pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s north coast, to export oil on tankers to Asian markets—which was rejected by the federal government in November 2016.
Fewer than half of British Columbians (44%, -2) would agree to take a second look at the proposal, while three-in-ten (30%, +4) disagree.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from June 10 to June 12, 2023, among 800 adults in British Columbia and 800 adults in Alberta. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in each province. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.5 percentage points for each province, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables for British Columbia here, our data tables for Alberta here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490 [e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca