Carbon levy issue remains divisive: poll

New Democrats love it, Conservatives remain opposed.

A year after its introduction, Alberta’s carbon levy and rebate program remains a strongly divisive issue.

And even in Environment Minister Shannon Phillips’ Lethbridge West constituency, 50.7 per cent of those responding to a new study voiced disapproval of the NDP government’s initiative.

“Support for carbon levy and rebates is up to pre-implementation levels,” reports political scientist Faron Ellis, research chair at Lethbridge College. “But a majority are still opposed.”

A mid-February survey by his Citizen Society Research Lab shows 45.4 per cent of Lethbridge residents who responded are in favour of the environmental program. That’s up significantly from the 35.7 per cent who approved a year ago — but just a little higher than the 43.4 per cent response when the plan was first announced in 2016.

Since then more than 60 per cent of Alberta’s families have received a rebate, Ellis says, with its amount varying by family income levels and the number of dependent children.

How local residents feel about that program seems tied directly to their political viewpoint, the results show. This year, 84.9 per cent of those who say they’d vote NDP are in support, along with 75.6 per cent of those who lean Liberal and 56.1 per cent of those who favour the Alberta Party.

But more than 80 per cent who identified with the new United Conservative Party voiced their opposition, along with 76 per cent who said they’d vote Conservative federally.

Family income is another indicator, the study shows. While 52.5 per cent with income below $40,000 per year — thus eligible for rebate cheques — are in support, that number fell to 41.6 per cent of those in the $40,000 to $100,000 range.

Education is another factor, it revealed, with 56.3 per cent of university graduates in agreement, dropping to 45.9 per cent for respondents with high school or less — and just 34.4 per cent of those with a college, technology or trades background.

Ellis says the question — one of a number included this time in the research lab’s twice-yearly survey — shows more Lethbridge residents are “strongly opposed” than those who say they’re strongly in support of the provincial government’s measure.

“Opposition is much more intense,” with 36.3 per cent of those responding city-wide putting themselves in the “strongly opposed” category; only 13.8 per cent were strongly supportive. But “men are more intense in their opposition,” he points out.

And “boomers” and seniors are less supportive than younger residents, Ellis adds.

The research lab study, conducted by Ellis-supervised students contacting Lethbridge landline and cellular phone numbers randomly selected, gathered responses from 1,288 residents who agreed to be interviewed. Its confidence level, he says, is accuracy within 2.7 per cent, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.

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