VANCOUVER – Nearly half of British Columbians would like to see the federal government doing more to help the environment, according to a recent survey.
A new poll from Research Co. found 45 per cent of respondents believe the federal government hasn't done enough on environmental issues. The response was similar when it came to the provincial government, with 43 per cent of British Columbians saying Victoria hasn't been paying enough attention to the environment.
More than half of Fraser Valley residents feel their municipal governments haven’t done enough on the environment, with 52 per cent of respondents saying councils haven’t paid enough attention to the issue. But in Metro Vancouver, that percentage drops to 44 per cent.
When it comes to which B.C. residents are more critical of Ottawa, disapproval is higher among women and older adults.
“The level of criticism towards the federal government on environmental issues is decidedly higher among two groups of British Columbians,” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. in a release. “Majorities of residents aged 55 and over (55 per cent) and women (53 per cent) think Ottawa should be paying more attention to the environment.”
When asked about which environmental issues concerned them the most, 58 per cent of British Columbians said air pollution and 55 per cent said global warming or climate change. A majority of respondents were also concerned about the pollution of lakes, rivers and reservoirs, as well as the pollution of drinking water.
But about three in ten British Columbians do feel the federal government has paid enough attention to the environment, and 17 per cent feel the government has focused too much on the issue.
Research Co.'s online survey was conducted from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29 among 800 British Columbians. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
