B.C. poll finds staunch opposition to pair of pipelines
British Columbians are strongly against construction of oil pipelines through their province, according to a new poll that finds opposition to a lesser-known pipeline expansion is nearly as high as discomfort with Enbridge Inc.’s controversial Northern Gateway project.
The poll found 60.3 per cent of those surveyed oppose Gateway, while 49.9 per cent oppose plans by Kinder Morgan to twin its Trans Mountain system, a half-century-old pipe that already carries substantial volumes of Alberta oil to Burnaby, B.C.
Support for both projects was much weaker, with 19.9 per cent of people behind Gateway, and 21.9 per cent behind Kinder Morgan. In both cases, the number of British Columbians that have maintained an open mind is low: 15.6 per cent declared themselves neutral on Trans Mountain, and 10.2 per cent neither supported nor opposed Gateway.
The poll was commissioned by the Living Oceans Society and conducted by Stratcom, a Vancouver and Toronto-based pollster, using an online panel of 1,012 people. It employs charged language in some instances, by suggesting the Kinder Morgan line transports only bitumen, or heavy oil sands crude, rather than the broader variety of oil and refined products that pipe actually carries.
But it is, environmental critics say, one of the first polls to assess opinion on both pipelines.
The poll also questioned how those in the province feel about five demands the B.C. government has set in front of new oil pipeline projects, including increased spending on water and land spill prevention and a greater share for B.C. of the money those projects might generate.
Those demands have won favour, with 45.2 per cent supporting them, and 27.4 per cent opposing them. Yet even if the key demand for more money is met – one that has set off a public dispute between B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Alison Redford – many say their pipeline views are unlikely to change.
Of those polled, 29.7 per cent said greater revenues from Gateway would make them more likely to support the project, while 25.2 per cent say they would grow less likely to support it.
The pipeline issue has clearly become an issue of substantial concern in B.C., where only 13.3 per cent said they were not familiar with it, while 31.3 per cent said they were very familiar. The potential for oil spills and leaks generated the greatest concern among those surveyed, whose views fell along traditional party lines.
Some 69 per cent of NDP voters, for example, opposed the Trans Mountain expansion. But the expansion has more support than opposition among both Liberal and Conservative voters, with 41 and 45 per cent, respectively, saying they are behind the project.
Stratcom also specifically polled 768 people by telephone along the Trans Mountain route, and found pipeline concerns ranked second among the most important issues facing the province today – behind the economy, but above health care, the environment, unemployment and education.
Of those who stand to be most directly affected by Trans Mountain, opposition to the expansion was only slightly higher, at 52 per cent, than it was among the broader B.C. population, where it stood at 49.9 per cent.
Among those who supported the expansion, its benefits to the economy ranked as the top reason; other factors included its contribution to jobs and the fact a pipeline already exists along that route.