A majority of Canadians agree individuals' actions ‘matter’ in the fight against climate change — they just don’t want to pay for it themselves.In fact, they think they’re the ones who ought to be paid to do it, according to a new Ipsos survey conducted earlier this fall.Despite big government taxpayer funded spending programs, barely a fifth of Canadians would be willing to pay more taxes to help prevent climate change.The irony is just more than six-in-ten, or 63%, think while individual inaction in combatting climate change “means failing future generations,” only 23% would be willing to fork over more taxes to do it.Instead, a significant minority, 38%, want governments to actually pay them in the form of financial incentives and indeed, tax cuts, to allow them to make “more environmentally purchases of goods and services.”.Although 52% are “aware” of the government’s net-zero by 2050 policy, only 15% think it’s realistic.Leger.Those numbers back up a Leger-PostMedia poll in September that found a clear majority — 55% — want the carbon tax reduced or eliminated altogether. Only 18% said they agreed with increasing it each year until it hits $170 per tonne by 2035.Alberta is typically thought of as the most anti-carbon tax jurisdiction in the country, however Leger found it this time to be Atlantic Canada, where 48% are outright opposed. Another majority (68%) of Canadians are unwilling to pay more in taxes for gasoline (up to 40 cents/litre by 2030) to aid in Canada’s climate net-zero policies. Support for higher gasoline prices is highest among Quebecers, but just at 24%..In other words, even though Canadians are generally concerned about climate, they’re not truly prepared to do anything about it..Although 52% are “aware” of the government’s net-zero by 2050 policy, only 15% think it’s realistic. Just 19% of Canadians feel it’s realistic for virtually all of Canada’s electricity generation to be converted to non-carbon emitting sources by the year 2035.Ironically, a separate Ipsos survey found that 65% of Canadians polled think governments should “act now” to take steps to combat climate warming, up from 59% in July and 53% at the start of the year.“Canadians seem to increasingly want their government to act,” Ipsos said. “(They) are increasingly viewing government inaction on climate change as failing the citizens that elected it.”That said, only 26% think the government has a “cohesive” plan for doing it. Just three in ten think ”Canada is a leader” in climate change (30% vs. 33% in July 2023)..However, a greater proportion of Canadians now believe Canada should do more in the fight against climate change (62% vs. 58% in July 2023), “intensifying the gap between desire and action.”In other words, even though Canadians are generally concerned about climate, they’re not truly prepared to do anything about it.Even worse, 68% think “the country will face extreme weather like we’ve experienced this year every year.” That number rises to 75% in Quebec.To be better prepared in the future, six in ten (60%) believe preparation is needed in the form of infrastructure to help cope with higher temperatures and more extreme weather. The polls are considered accurate to within ± 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
