One of the key barriers that seemed to be facing the Carney government’s plans to fast-track big projects designed to boost the Canadian economy — namely, climate concerns — appears now to be not much of an obstacle at all when it comes to public opinion.
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new Leger poll released Friday asked Canadians about what they thought were the biggest challenges facing Canada. Trade and tariff issues and U.S. relations were No. 1, at 20 per cent. But climate change, one of the federal government’s key objections in recent years to building or expanding pipelines, ports and other big projects, was way down the list, a “third tier” issue, said Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns. Just four per cent of respondents listed “climate change/extreme weather” as the No. 1 issue facing Canada today, putting it in eighth place among the 14 top issues offered as choices. That’s in sharp contrast to a similar Leger poll conducted in 2019, Enns said. Back then his data show that “fighting climate change” ranked as the third most frequently cited priority (by 30 per cent), just a few points behind taxation and “jobs and the economy” (both 35 per cent).
nationalpost.com
