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59 per cent of Canadians \u201csupport\u201d or \u201cstrongly support\u201d Alberta’s proposed pipeline. Albertans showed the most support at 78 per cent, while 56 per cent of British Columbians support the project. (Angus Reid Institute)<\/p>\n
The poll comes as Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have engaged in a back-and-forth over Smith\u2019s proposal for a new bitumen pipeline<\/a>, announced last week.<\/p>\n The province plans to develop and submit a formal application to the federal Major Projects Office, committing $14 million to the proposal and acting as the proponent.<\/p>\n While Eby has cited concerns over Alberta being the sole proponent and about the project’s potential impact on Ottawa\u2019s oil tanker restrictions implemented in 2019<\/a> in B.C.’s northern waters, Smith has called the B.C. premier’s rejection of the proposal \u201cun-Canadian\u201d and \u201cunconstitutional.”<\/a><\/p>\n The poll showed Canadians are a bit more resistant to the idea of \u201cfast-tracking\u201d the pipeline project than to the project itself, with 55 per cent of Canadians indicating support.<\/p>\n Jon Roe, a research associate with the Angus Reid Institute, says \u201cCanadians are in support of this project, but I think they want to make sure that certain hoops [like] environmental protections [including those in consultation with Indigenous peoples] \u2026 aren’t ignored as we’re moving this project forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The poll found that 46 per cent of Canadians \u2014 and 52 per cent of British Columbians \u2014 say any province whose land a pipeline is built on should have veto rights unless its conditions are met.<\/p>\n Trump factor shifting Canadian priorities<\/p>\n Richard Masson, executive fellow at the University of Calgary\u2019s School of Public Policy and former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, said the poll may reflect how Canadians are feeling since President Donald Trump rocked Canada\u2019s relationship with the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are starting to say we need to be able to take care of ourselves and we need to do the things that we can do within our country to manage our relationships with the rest of the world,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd selling products that we can produce is a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n In a 2021 Angus Reid poll, 63 per cent of Canadians said environmental protection should be prioritized over economic growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, the recent poll shows 57 per cent of Canadians say economic growth is the more important factor.<\/p>\n \u201cI think as we’ve seen the circumstances change and \u2026 especially with U.S. President Donald Trump coming in and these threats about tariffs and annexing Canada, it means they’re more likely to look at economic growth as being the more important factor than environmental protection,\u201d Roe said.<\/p>\n Tanker ban challenge<\/p>\n Nearly half of Canadians either want the federal government\u2019s oil tanker ban repealed (23 per cent) or excused for the northern B.C. pipeline project (26 per cent).\u00a0Nearly 30 per cent of Canadians want to keep the tanker ban in place.<\/p>\n In B.C, 44 per cent lean towards opening the province\u2019s northern coast to tanker traffic either entirely or at least for this project.<\/p>\n Smith has previously said she made her position on the oil tanker restrictions “abundantly clear” to Prime Minister Mark Carney and is “optimistic” that Ottawa will revise the law.<\/p>\n Last week, Canada\u2019s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson dismissed questions on whether or not Ottawa would repeal the tanker ban, saying “it’s a hypothetical question right now because there is no project before us.”<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear that a pipeline is going to cause all kinds of havoc is probably a little bit less than it might have been before [the Trans Mountain] pipeline was built because people recognize, yeah, we built it safely,\u201d Masson said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s operating just like it was promised. And the tankers, same as any other ship, are following the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"When](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760355094_320_default.jpg\")
When it comes to energy policy, Canadians’ priorities have almost flipped. In 2021, 63 per cent of Canadians said environmental protection should be prioritized over economic growth. Now, 57 per cent of Canadians say economic growth is the priority. (Angus Reid Institute)<\/p>\n