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Opposition to pipeline projects in B.C. has dwindled over time
The federal approval of Enbridge’s Westcoast LNG pipeline expansion is being met with little public opinion opposition in what is further evidence of the changed landscape on pipelines in British Columbia.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds majority support for the Westcoast LNG pipeline expansion across the country (55%) and in B.C. (61%), where support outnumbers opposition by three-to-one (17%).
There is also a desire for more. Half (48%) in Canada, and more than two-in-five (46%) in B.C., believe the federal government is “doing too little to build new pipeline capacity”. Nationally, three-in-ten (31%) say the federal government’s approach is about right, while one-in-five (21%) say there is too much of a focus on building pipelines.
The latter group has shrunk by six points compared to 2019 (27%), when the Trans Mountain expansion was being debated.
Since 2019, there has been a major shift in priorities for Canadians when it comes to energy policy. At that time, more believed protecting the environment (55%) should be a bigger focus than economic growth (45%). Now, three-in-five (61%) say growing the economy should be the bigger focus for energy policy than stewarding the environment (39%).
In B.C., the proportion of residents standing in opposition to pipeline projects has shrunk over time. Earlier in the 2010s, majorities were opposed to Northern Gateway (2012, 57%) and the Trans Mountain expansion (2014, 54%). Eventually, there was more support for Trans Mountain once it was approved by the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but still sizable opposition (54% support, 38% oppose in 2019). In more recent data taken by ARI, opposition to various pipeline projects is under one-third, including Enbridge’s Westcoast LNG (17%).
Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/
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