The majority of Albertans and British Columbians want work on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to proceed, according to a new poll.
Research Co. says the results of their most recent online survey, released on Tuesday, show 52 per cent of British Columbians and 74 per cent of Albertans support the federal government’s decision to re-approve the project.
“There is a higher level of support for the pipeline’s expansion from residents aged 55 and over in both British Columbia (60 per cent) and Alberta (83 per cent),” said Mario Canseco, President of Research Co., in a statement.
“Agreement with the federal government’s decision is lower among those aged 18-to-34 In each province (44 per cent in BC, 68 per cent in Alberta).”
Compared to a similar survey performed by Research Co. in December 2019, agreement and opposition to the pipeline expansion have both dropped.
Support for the project in B.C. fell from 56 per cent to 52 per cent, while opposition fell from 35 per cent to 29 per cent. The proportion of undecided respondents grew from 10 per cent in 2019 to 18 per cent in this week’s results.
While a majority of respondents in both provinces expressed support for the project, they diverged sharply on how their provincial governments should react and on perceptions of the pipeline’s safety.
40 per cent of British Columbians believe the provincial government should be doing anything it can to ensure the expansion does not happen, compared to only 22 per cent of Albertans.
Furthermore, only 17 per cent of Albertans are worried about the Trans Mountain Pipeline’s possible threat to health and safety of residents, compared to 44 per cent of British Columbians.
They do agree, however, that the pipeline will create jobs (68 per cent of B.C., 79 per cent of Alberta), and similar numbers agree that the project’s re-approval will lower gas prices (38 per cent of B.C., 34 per cent of Alberta).
Results are based on an online study conducted from October 29 to October 31, 2020, among 800 adults in British Columbia, and an online study conducted from November 2 to
November 4, 2020, among 700 adults in Alberta. The margin of error—which measures
sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points for British Columbia and +/- 3.4 percentage points for Alberta, nineteen times out of twenty.
