climate change

Public concerns about climate change notwithstanding, Canadians are placing increasing priority on economic security over the importance of reducing carbon emissions.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change had emerged as one of Canadians’ top concerns. The situation a year later is completely different: naturally, the pandemic now eclipses all other issues as the one Canadians see as most important.

As part of its ongoing Focus Canada public opinion research program, the Environics Institute partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation to ask Canadians about climate change, to determine how perceptions have changed (or not) over the past year or so. 

As global warming emissions reach record-breaking levels, Canada’s environment minister will join world leaders in Lima, Peru, next week for the latest round of UN talks on an action plan to fight climate change.

Where does the Canadian public stand today on the issue of climate change? Have Canadians lost interest or do they remain concerned and want strong actions to address the problem?

Climate change is once again emerging as a pressing global issue, and it is becoming increasingly clear that substantial actions will need to be taken. What to do?

The climate-change Olympics are still under way in Copenhagen, with each nation in attendance participating in a bizarre competition to see how well they can pronounce the party line on climate change while making the fewest concessions for tough actions back home.

In June of 1989, a remarkable thing happened. When Environics asked Canadians what they saw as the top problem facing the country, the most common answer was the environment.