Most Albertans oppose Premier Rachel Notley’s climate change plan: poll

CALGARY – A new poll suggests most Albertans don’t agree with the province’s new climate change strategy.

A total of 68 per cent of the Albertans surveyed in the Mainstreet poll, released on Monday, said they were in opposition of the recently released climate leadership plan.

The government unveiled its climate change strategy on Nov. 22, including a carbon tax that will apply across the economy. The levy would start at $20 per tonne of greenhouse gases in 2017 and would move to $30 per tonne the next year.

READ MORE: Alberta climate change plan – ‘War on coal’, ‘unfair hit’ or positive step forward?

The poll suggested support for the climate plan is strongest in Edmonton, where 50 per cent of respondents approved of it and only 36 per cent opposed. In Calgary, 37 per cent said they supported the plan while 55 per cent said they were opposed to it.

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When asked if they support a carbon tax in Alberta, 66 per cent of respondents to the Mainstreet poll said they were in opposition, while 29 per cent said they were in support.

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“We’ve consistently found opposition to new taxes in Alberta, even with the current economic climate, so it comes as no surprise that most are against the climate plan – and in particular, the carbon tax,” president of Mainstreet Research, Quito Maggi, said in a news release.

“Albertans are more or less split on other components of the plan,” Maggi added.

READ MORE: Alberta outlines plan for transitioning to renewable energy

When asked if they supported or opposed a plan to replace coal power with renewable energy, 50 per cent said they were in opposition, while 44 per cent said they were in support.

Meanwhile, when asked if the government should use money collected from the carbon tax to eliminate deficit and pay off debt, 43 per cent said yes, while 37 per cent said no.

The Mainstreet/Postmedia poll used Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology to survey 3,017 Albertans  on Dec. 3, 2015 with a combination of land lines and cellular phones.

According to Mainstreet Technologies the poll carries an overall margin of error of +/- 1.78%, 19 times out of 20.

Regional margins of error: Edmonton: +/- 3.11%; Calgary +/-3.09%; Rest of Alberta : +/-3.07%, 19 times out of 20.

Results were weighed by age and gender based on the 2011

BELOW: See the complete poll from Mainstreet Technologies