A strong majority of Quebeckers are in favour of developing new pipelines for oil and gas to supply Europe and Asia, according to a new Montreal Economic Institute (MEI)-Ipsos poll released this morning..“Quebeckers recognize that each cubic metre of gas we export to Europe is a cubic metre of gas less that Russia exports,” said Renaud Brossard, senior director of communications at the MEI..“The population is much more open to developing our energy resources than are its representatives at the National Assembly.”.Across the country, two in three respondents (67%) favour the development of oil and gas pipelines to ports in Eastern and Western Canada in order to export to Europe and Asia, with only 18% opposed. In Alberta, support was 86% with 6% opposed..Six in ten Canadians say they are in favour of developing and exporting natural gas to Europe in order to reduce its dependency on Russian gas. In Alberta, 77% liked the idea, and only 14% were opposed..Six in ten Canadians (63%) are in favour of increasing incentive measures for carbon sequestration, while only 18% are opposed..Conversely, six in ten Canadians (61%) can’t or don’t want to pay more in taxes to fight climate change, with opposition highest on the prairies (69%) and Alberta (65%). Of those who support increases, the median amount they would be willing to pay is an additional $100..Seventy-eight per cent of Quebeckers want their oil imports to come from Western Canada, while 9% chose the US, 2% somewhere else and 12% were unsure..The poll also found half (51%) of Quebeckers are in favour of extracting Quebec’s own oil resources, a percentage that has hovered between 43% and 54% since 2019. Meanwhile, three in ten (30%) believe the province should continue to import all of the oil it needs..In 2018, Quebec banned fracking for shale gas anywhere in the province and any oil and gas extraction within a kilometre of any city. In response, Fraser Institute Senior Policy Fellow Robert Murphy responded with a 2020 commentary entitled, “Quebec’s fracking ban based more on exaggerated fears — not science.”.In the context of the announced end of Hydro-Québec’s surpluses, 62% of Quebec respondents support the idea of allowing independent electricity producers to sell their energy directly to companies. Only 23% were opposed..“Quebeckers understand that the end of Hydro-Québec’s surpluses is becoming a drag on the development of the province and its regions,” explains Mr. Brossard. “By letting independent producers meet excess demand, we’ll be able to avoid losing job-creating projects due to a lack of energy.”.The MEI poll was conducted among a representative sample of 1,163 Canadians aged 18 years and over, between Aug. 1 and 4. The results are accurate to within plus-or-minus 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20..The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances and advisory services to policy-makers, the MEI advocates for public policies that foster sound economics and entrepreneurship.
