Focus Canada 2013: Canadian Public Opinion About Climate Change

Two national Focus Canada surveys were conducted in 2013 on thematic issues:

• Climate change and carbon pricing (November 2013)
• Crime and justice issues (October 2013)

Climate change and carbon pricing

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? The Environics Institute for Survey Research partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation to take a new sounding of public opinion on climate change, as part of its ongoing Focus Canada public opinion research program. Focus Canada is the country’s longest-running national public opinion research program, and is now a public interest initiative providing credible, independent and sustained insight into Canadian public opinion on important issues facing the country.

The survey included questions that serve as key indicators of public opinion about various aspects of climate change. These questions originated with an ongoing syndicated study (The Canadian Environmental Barometer) that has been conducted by the Environics Research Group since 2007. Environics Research has made the trend data for these questions available for purposes of comparing the current findings with those from previous years dating back to 2007 (when climate change had a major presence on the national and international agenda).

• Read op-ed in Globe and Mail
• Read op-ed in Vancouver Sun

Crime and Justice

The 2013 thematic survey updated key public opinion indicators from previous Focus Canada surveys addressing perceptions of crime rates (going up or down?), the priority for governments emphasizing law enforcement versus crime prevention, as well as opinions about capital punishment and assisted suicide.

Keywords: climate change/global warming, government policy/priorities, renewable energy, environment