Canadians tilt toward non-partisanship on energy decisions; academics and industry experts top list of preferred sources to inform government decision-making

The research gauged public perceptions and opinions regarding the balance between political influence and expert advice in policy decisions, the role of various sources in informing these decisions, and the role of oil and gas in Canada's current and future economy. It explored views on expanding oil and gas exports for global energy security and climate change mitigation. Additionally, the survey asked Canadians to score government performance on strengthening public confidence in Canada’s energy decision-making processes and on developing a shared long-term vision for Canada’s energy future.

1. Canadians more likely to prefer that energy and environmental policy decisions be influenced by advice from the non-partisan public service than by the politics of the government of the day: Two in five Canadians (40%) say that energy decisions should be influenced by the advice received from the non-partisan public service (score of 0-3 out of 10), while under two in five are for a balanced approach (36%), and over one in ten prefer the politics of the government in power (14%), for a total mean score of 3.9. When asked the reason for their opinion, the top response was ‘Government bias/Politics getting in the way/Politicians are not experts’ (27%) followed by ‘Ask experts in the field/Science-Science-based evidence and facts/Independent sources’ (13%).
2. Canadians prefer academic and industry insights for advice on energy policy decisions: When asked to give a percentage on where the government should seek guidance on energy policy in Canada, the highest percentage was given on average to ‘Academia (Universities, Peer-reviewed science, researchers)’ (18%) and ‘Industry experts/business’ (17%). Canadians were also asked for the reasons behind their choices, with the top responses being ‘More broad input/all interested parties should have a say/balance’ (27%) and ‘Decisions should be based on science/research/university/academia’ (19%).
3. Canada’s performance poorly rated in building public confidence in energy decision making and developing a shared long-term vision for Canada's energy future: A majority of Canadians say that Canada is performing poorly in building public confidence in energy decision-making (28% very poor and 33% poor) and in developing a shared long-term vision for Canada’s energy future (28% very poor and 31% poor), which is consistent with previous waves.
4. Oil and gas seen as highly important to Canada’s current economy: About four in five Canadians rate oil and gas as important to Canada’s current economy (score of 7-10 out of 10) (79%) which is an increase from the previous wave in January 2024 (74%). When asked the reason for their opinion, the top reason is ‘Contributes/tied to Canadian/provincial economy, exports, jobs’ (28%) followed by ‘Oil and gas are important Canadian natural resources/we have a lot of it/produce it’, with Canadians being three times more likely to mention this compared to the previous wave (13%; 4% in January 2024).
5. Oil and gas remain important to Canada's future economy: About three in five Canadians view oil and gas as important to Canada’s future economy (score of 7 to 10 out of 10) (59%). When asked about the reasons for their rating, the primary response is ‘Moving towards clean energy/reducing reliance on fossil fuels’, this showed a substantial rise from January 2024 (31%; 24% in January 2024). This is followed by ‘Remain a large part of Canada’s economy/still contributing to Canada’s economy’, which has also increased from the previous wave (20%; 13% in January 2024).
6. Majority of Canadians agree or somewhat agree on expanding oil and gas exports for security and climate: Similar to previous waves, a majority of Canadians agree or somewhat agree that Canada should expand oil and gas exports to help the world have more secure and reliable energy supplies (35% agree and 26% somewhat agree), and that these exports from Canada’s oil and gas sector can contribute to combatting global climate change if our exports displace energy sources in other countries that are more damaging to the climate (33% agree and 30% somewhat agree).