Economic growth now tops environment as priority in energy policy, poll suggests

OTTAWA — More Canadians now say economic growth should be a bigger priority in Canada’s energy policy than protecting the environment, a new Angus Reid Institute report suggests.

The pollster released a report today that suggests 61 per cent of Canadians now see economic growth as the biggest priority in energy policy.

That’s a shift in public opinion since seven years ago, when the same question had 55 per cent of Canadians saying that the environment should be the top priority in energy policy.

The poll suggests almost two thirds of British Columbians support the recently approved $4-billion expansion of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline, while 55 per cent support the project nationally.

The Angus Reid Institute says the online poll was conducted between April 24 and 28 with 2,360 Canadian adults drawn from the Angus Reid Forum, the agency’s poll respondent pool.

The Canadian Research Insights Council, an industry organization that promotes polling standards, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2026.

The Canadian Press staff