Go BackNews Release: British Columbians evenly split over new oil pipelines
The debate over new pipelines is far from settled in British Columbia, with the province equally divided over the issue according to a new poll released today by Dimitri Pantazopoulos of Maple Leaf Strategies.
48 per cent of British Columbians said they support developing oil pipelines to connect Alberta’s oil resources with the west coast to allow for exports. 46 per cent say they oppose development. The question was asked as part of Winning Ways, a syndicated research study conducted by Maple Leaf Strategies.
These results are in line with another recent survey conducted by Maple Leaf Strategies in December that found that 47 per cent of British Columbians now support the Northern Gateway pipeline project.
“These results demonstrate that British Columbians are equally split on pipeline development and that the issue is far from decided,” said Dimitri Pantazopoulos, Partner at Maple Leaf Strategies. Pantazopoulos received national accolades as the only pollster to accurately predict the outcome of the 2013 provincial election.
The December survey, sponsored by the BC Chamber of Commerce, found that support for Northern Gateway pipeline increases to 63 per cent if the project can meet Premier Christy Clark’s five conditions for all new heavy oil pipelines.
The live telephone survey of 800 British Columbians was conducted between January 28, 2014 and February 2, 2014 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5%, nineteen times out of twenty. The results are taken from Maple Leaf Strategies’ “Winning Ways” study.
Maple Leaf Strategies is a public affairs, government relations, communications and research firm with offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
For further details, please contact:
Dimitri Pantazopoulos
Partner
Maple Leaf Strategies
T: 778-588-6222
M: 250-588-1345
dimitri@mapleleafstrategies.com