Canada PoliticsCanadians split on Northern Gateway decision: poll
One of the most peculiar things about the Harper government's green light of the Northern Gateway pipeline, on Tuesday, was that it was done via a press release.
Despite the significance of the of the announcement, there was no press conference and no MP was made available to answer any questions.
The secrecy suggests that the government is sensitive to the reality that Gateway is a political hot potato and potentially a ballot box issue in 2015.
A new Angus Reid poll, conducted after the decision was announced, shows how split Canadians are on the issue.
The survey shows Canadians are split over whether the decision to allow energy company Enbridge to build an oil pipeline through northern Alberta and BC – provided it meets 209 conditions – was the correct one. Just over one-third (37%) say they think the decision was right. About the same number (34%) say the decision was wrong and nearly one-third (29%) say they aren’t sure.
Regardless of their views on energy versus the environment, respondents had little doubt about the future of the Northern Gateway project. Nearly seven-in-ten (68%) say regardless of how they feel about the pipeline, they do think it will actually be built.
The highest opposition to the controversial $6.5 billion mega-project comes from British Columbia where environmental and First Nation groups have promised to do whatever it takes to make sure it's not built.
But even in B.C. — the province arguably most affected by the pipeline decision — public opinion is split: 40 per cent of those surveyed government made the wrong decision, 38 per cent said it was the right move while 22 per cent are unsure.
The full survey results can be seen here.
[ Related : Federal government approves Northern Gateway pipeline project ]
Meanwhile, The federal opposition parties — the New Democrats the Liberals — have vowed to kill the project if they're elected to govern in 2015.
"If I win the honour of serving as prime minister, the Northern Gateway pipeline will not happen," Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
"I've been to that part of the world, I've met with many many of the British Columbians that make their living off of the pristine coastal waters. It is not a place for a pipeline.
"This current government has been nothing but a cheerleader for this pipeline from the very beginning when Canadians needed a referee."
[ Related: Between a rock and pipeline: Feds distance themselves from Gateway ]
Whether Gateway is an issue that can drive votes in next election, remains to be seen.
Press Progress — a propoganda arm of the left-leaning Broadbent Institute — recently concluded that, based on the results of recent surveys, enough voters in B.C. would turn away from the Conservatives to cost them up to six seats in the next election.
But, on the other hand, as explained by the Canadian Press' Jennifer Ditchburn, enough the decision could help the government.
"While polls suggest a majority of British Columbians are opposed to the Northern Gateway project, that still leaves large numbers of voters who aren’t — leaving the Conservatives to brand themselves as the only choice of citizens who support natural resource development and the jobs it might bring," she wrote.
In other words, despite all the noise otherwise, green-lighting Gateway could actually be a green-light for the Harper government's re-election efforts.
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