Category: News

Download the results and view interactive maps at canada2020.ca/climatepoll
November 6, 2013 (Ottawa) – The Canada 2020/Université de Montréal National Survey of Canadian Opinions on Climate Change, released today, reveals that 84% of Canadians believe the federal government should take the lead on combating climate change; 76% of Canadians believe Canada should sign an international climate agreement even if it means doing so before China and the U.S.; and 71% of Canadians believe that climate change should be a top priority for the Conservative federal government – while only 16% of Canadians believe it actually is a priority for the government.
The nationally representative telephone survey interviewed 1502 adult Canadians during the month of October, yielding a margin of error of +/- 2.5 per cent, in 19 out of 20 samples. The study, run concurrently with researchers in the U.S. highlights a stark contrast between the leadership Canadians want on climate change, and the kind of leadership they are getting. And with the United Nations Climate Change Conference happening in Warsaw, Poland from November 11– 22, the survey offers a compelling look into what Canadians think should be done about climate change and, most importantly, who they think should take the lead.
“Canada 2020’s results confirm what many Canadians already know: there is a leadership vacuum when it comes to fighting climate change in this country,” said Diana Carney, Associate with Canada 2020. “From signing international agreements to the uptake of renewable energy, all across the board Canadians are waiting for the federal government to take responsibility and lead.”
Added Tim Barber, Canada 2020’s Co-Founder: “When you dig into Canada 2020’s data, you realize how much further along Canadians are than our American neighbors; whether you’re talking about installing a carbon price, making smart use of our pipelines or paying more at the pump, Canadians don’t see a trade-off between having a healthy environment and a thriving economy.”

Major highlights from the survey include:

• 76% of Canadians (versus 59% of Americans) are either ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned about global warming ;
• 84% of Canadians ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ believe that the federal government should take primary responsibility for addressing global warming;
• 71% of Canadians believe climate change should be a top priority for the federal government – while only 16% believe it actually is a top priority for the current government;
• 84% of Canadians (versus 57% of Americans) either ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ believe that rich countries such as Canada and the U.S. have a moral obligation to show international leadership by reducing GHG emissions;
• 76% of Canadians (versus 56% of Americans) either ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ agree that Canada should sign an international climate agreement – even if it means doing so before the U.S. or China sign one;
• 60% of Canadians either ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ support the expanded use of pipelines to transport oil and gas;
• A majority of Canadians support putting a price on carbon, with support actually increasing when told it could increase fuel or home energy prices by a specific amount; and
• Furthermore, in regions where carbon pricing systems are in effect, like B.C. or Quebec, support increases substantially.

“Relative to respondents in the U.S., Canadians are more convinced that climate change is occurring, more concerned about it, and more willing to pay to address the issue. Canadians are also more likely to support carbon pricing than Americans, particularly when provided with information on costs and how revenues are used. A lot of our findings challenge commonly held assumptions in Canada regarding the political feasibility of climate policy and the question of when to act,” said Erick Lachapelle, Professor at the Université de Montréal.
Canada 2020 will discuss the poll’s results and implications at a highly anticipated public event this evening, Wednesday November 6^th in Ottawa. The event, The politics of climate, and the climate of politics will take place in the Château Laurier Hotel’s Laurier Room from 4:30 to 6:00 PM.
The event will feature a heavy-hitter panel of environmental and political experts, including David Jacobson, Vice Chair of the BMO Financial Group and former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Scott Vaughan, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, David McLaughlin, Strategic Adviser at the University of Waterloo, Erick Lachapelle, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Montreal, Chris Borick, Professor of Political Science at Muhlenberg College in the United States, and Canada 2020’s Diana Carney.

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Editor’s notes:

1) To download the poll results, and view interactive maps, visit canada2020.ca/climatepoll
2) Our event, The politics of climate and the climate of politics can be livestreamed at 4:30 PM ET at canada2020.ca/live

About the poll:

The Canada 2020/Université de Montréal National Survey of Canadian Opinions on Climate Change was designed by Erick Lachapelle (Université de Montréal), Chris Borick (Muhlenberg College) and Barry Rabe (University of Michigan).
The survey was administered in Canada by Léger to a nationally representative sample of 1,502 Canadians (aged 18 and over). All surveys were conducted via telephone in English and French from 10 October to 20 October 2013. Calls were made using both landline and mobile phone listings. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 2.5% in 19 out of 20 samples.

Canada 2020′s Co-Founder Tim Barber has been named one The Hill Times’ 101 most influential people in government and politics in their yearly Power&Influence feature.
Ranking the 100 most powerful politicians, lobbyists, staffers, media and other influencers, Barber is hailed by Bea Vongdouangchanh for his ability to bring the ‘top people into one room.’
From the profile: “Back in the day, he co-founded the ‘Cathay Club’ dinners and annual ‘Bluesky’ sessions at Meech Lake where he would bring Ottawa’s top people together to deliberate on important public policy issues. Now he’s doing it formally with Canada 2020, but on a much larger scale, attracting elite international speakers and hundreds of people to must-attend, sold-out events. Canada 2020 has access to people that other think tanks don’t have…”
Power&Influence is available online.

When asked why they would want to study abroad, most Canadian university or college students give a variation on the following answer:
“It will broaden my horizons, I will make new friends, and I will have fun becoming a global citizen.”
All great things, all true in their own way – but all miss the bigger picture.
A growing body of literature, much originating in Australia (a country with a very significant international education component to its economy), has made the link between study abroad and national innovation performance. The proposition is simple: when students travel abroad during their post-secondary education years, they participate in an economic process that fuses countries, markets, sectors and people together in a productive exchange of ideas and practices, yielding tangible economic benefits.
In short: they do a lot more than make friends.
The key is social capital – the process of cultivating and deriving economic benefit from new environments, experiences and networks. Literature on the concept directly links it to innovation performance. Societies that are innovative place a high premium on social capital building experiences. Right now, the ability to develop social capital is not a skill that Canadian educators and policymakers seem to prioritize and as a result we are suffering from low innovation scores across the board.
Historically, the flow of the international students has been predominantly uni-directional.
Developing economies – think China, India, Brazil and some African nations – happily send their bumper-crops of young students overseas with the hope that higher standards in education, language proficiency and increased market opportunity will yield long-run, national economic prosperity.
Developed economies compete to attract these incoming students. Canada and the US have excelled at this, and it’s no mystery as to why: international students typically contribute anywhere between $6 and $10 billion annually to our economy. The recent South American tour by Canadian university presidents – accompanied by Governor General David Johnson and AUCC President Paul Davidson – underscores how seriously we take this business (though this has not stopped us losing ground to newcomers in the business, such as Australia).
But, given the benefits of study abroad, isn’t it time we placed greater emphasis on sending our own young people out to increase their own understanding and help them develop global ties? Developed economies need the innovation benefits of study abroad too. Were we to do so, we would be far from the front of the pack. Around 33% of German students study abroad. The figure for France is in the mid-20s – heck, even the United States sends 11% of its students overseas, so language cannot be the barrier.
The figure for Canada? An anemic 3%. Each year, only 50,000 Canadian university, college or polytechnique students travel overseas – a mobility rate that has shown no signs of growth over the past 10 years.
Yes, Canada is one of the top destinations for international students choosing to spend time abroad during their studies. Among all OECD countries, Canada has a stay-rate of 33%, which is 8% higher than the OECD average and means that more students who come to study in Canada, stay in Canada afterwards. But when it comes to Canadian students packing their bags and spending time abroad? We’re missing out – big time.
And what’s incredibly frustrating for Canadian policymakers, NGOs and academics interested in turning these low-mobility rates around is that countless surveys reveal a near unanimous level of support for study abroad. When asked if international education would be something they would pursue, Canadian students respond with a decisive ‘Yes’. Even their parents, university administrators and other members of a student’s sphere of influence sing its praises.
So there’s a disconnect. This tells us two things:
First, something – whether cost, safety, time commitment, quality of education, logistics, or other external or internal factors – is stopping students from fulfilling their study abroad goals.
Second, Canada is failing to leverage the partnerships it has developed as a recipient country for international students. Being among the top study destinations among OECD partners implies an extensive network of partnerships with international institutions and programs. Why are Canada’s educators not better at turning inbound student flows into better, easier-accessed opportunities for their own outbound students?
Both must be addressed.
The federal government has a unique role to play in incentivizing study abroad, whether it be through dedicated funds distributed through existing granting councils, or a simple show of leadership by publicly making international study a national priority.
The good news is that in supporting international education, the government can also stand behind its own stated priorities. Programs and subsidies can be geared towards specific countries and needs. Certainly as Canada pivots to meet Asia’s rise, a cornerstone of our engagement strategy should include exposing more Canadian students to the rapidly developing markets in China, India and South Korea.
Canada must act fast to fit in this missing piece of our innovation puzzle. Without it, we will continue to miss out on the global economies of the 21st century.