Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Seven in 10 Canadians worried about climate change, link it to extreme weather

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Sep, 2023 10:49 AM
  • Seven in 10 Canadians worried about climate change, link it to extreme weather

A large majority of Canadians are worried about climate change and believe it is the reason for an increase in extreme weather, a new national poll suggests.

But the Leger poll says only a small fraction of people listed climate change as the top issue facing Canada today, and many say they're only likely to change their behaviour if that doesn't come with a cost.

The polling firm asked more than 1,500 people about their views on climate change in an online survey conducted between Sept. 8 and 10.

The poll, which is weighted to account for demographic differences, can't be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

It comes at the end of Canada's worst wildfire season in history.

Globally, temperatures hit record highs in July, while Canadians in every province and much of the North were directly impacted by fires — if not from the blazes directly, then by the thick smoke from those fires that blanketed cities and towns thousands of kilometres away.

More than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes between May and September and hundreds of homes burned, including about 200 in suburban Halifax in the spring, and almost as many in West Kelowna, B.C., in August.

Against that backdrop, 72 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they are worried or very worried about climate change and 21 per cent said they were not very worried. Only seven per cent said they weren't worried about it at all.

Respondents from Quebec were most likely to be worried or very worried, at 84 per cent, while Albertans were the least likely to be worried, at 55 per cent.

Younger Canadians are more concerned about the climate than older Canadians, and women are more worried than men.

Pocketbook issues heavily outweighed climate change as a top-of-mind issue for Canadians in the poll, with only seven per cent of those surveyed listing climate change as the top issue facing the country.

The largest share — 33 per cent — said inflation is the top issue, 16 per cent chose housing affordability, and eight per cent pointed to rising interest rates.

Sixty-nine per cent of those surveyed said climate change is caused by human activity, while 21 per cent said they believe it's just part of a natural pattern. More than 80 per cent of Quebec residents polled blame people for climate change, compared with 51 per cent in Alberta.

Almost three quarters of Canadians surveyed think extreme weather events are linked to climate change, and about two in three think we're going to see more extreme weather in the future.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents said they have already changed some of their daily behaviour because of their concerns about climate change and 68 per cent said they planned to make changes to their daily life in the next five years.

However, only 40 per cent said they'd make changes to their daily lives if that comes with a cost.

Environmental activists have long argued Canadians need to be thinking not just about how much it costs to change our behaviour to slow climate change, but also how much it costs not to act.

Last spring, the federal government issued an updated analysis showing it costs Canada $261 this year for every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions emitted. Those costs include the impact of extreme weather on things like food production, human health and disaster-repair bills. The analysis suggested that by 2030, that cost will rise to $294 per tonne.

The most recent inventory showed Canada emitted about 670 million tonnes in 2021. The current target aims to reduce that by more than 230 million tonnes a year by 2030.

MORE National ARTICLES

Human activity and climate change cause cascading effects for Arctic ecosystem

Human activity and climate change cause cascading effects for Arctic ecosystem
Most of the planet is covered by oceans, which have absorbed 90 per cenet of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Global sea temperatures have been at record highs since April, meterologists report as climate change is linked to more extreme and deadly events. 

Human activity and climate change cause cascading effects for Arctic ecosystem

Canada mulling 'game plan' if U.S. takes far-right, authoritarian shift: Joly

Canada mulling 'game plan' if U.S. takes far-right, authoritarian shift: Joly
Joly added that Ottawa's close political and economic ties to the U.S. means that "we must certainly prepare several scenarios." She suggested Canada has a game plan in mind but wouldn't get into details.

Canada mulling 'game plan' if U.S. takes far-right, authoritarian shift: Joly

NDP calls on feds to give study permits to institutions with 'credible' housing plan

NDP calls on feds to give study permits to institutions with 'credible' housing plan
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press that the federal government is reconsidering international student flows, particularly since some students have been victims of fraud. 

NDP calls on feds to give study permits to institutions with 'credible' housing plan

Thousands of residents around West Kelowna on evacuation alert as fire flares

Thousands of residents around West Kelowna on evacuation alert as fire flares
The Regional District of Central Okanagan posted the evacuation alert for as many as 4800 properties just before 10:30pm, Wednesday, about four hours after the McDougall Creek blaze was spotted 10 kilometres northwest of West Kelowna.

Thousands of residents around West Kelowna on evacuation alert as fire flares

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar
Homicide investigators in British Columbia say they are seeking a third suspect in the killing of Surrey Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18. Pierotti told a media briefing that the suspected getaway driver waited for the other suspects in a silver 2008 Toyota Camry that was parked near 121 Street and 68 Avenue before and during the killing.

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta
Located at 1054 - 54A St., KinVillage Apartments will have 145 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom homes. All units will be adaptable or accessible, allowing the suites to be easily and inexpensively modified to meet residents’ needs as they age. 

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta