Alberta Politics: Support tilts towards backing renewable moratorium, but worries over jobs, power prices linger

Three-in-five believe province is right to resist federal government’s push to net zero

As Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushes back against the federal government’s plans to decarbonize the power grid, Albertans lean towards supporting the recently implemented moratorium on large-scale solar and wind projects but remain concerned about potential ripple effects on jobs and power prices.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds approaching half of Albertans (47%) feel the moratorium on renewable energy development to be a good idea.

However, there are many – two-infive (40%) – who disagree. The green energy development pause is supported by a majority (55%) outside of Edmonton and Calgary. Opinions are more divided inside the province’s two largest cities, though Calgarians are more inclined to say the moratorium is a good idea than not.

At issue for the dissenters are concerns over the moratorium’s effect on what was a booming sector of the economy and the jobs it created, as well as rapidly rising power prices in the province. Half (50%) of Albertans say the government is “hurting jobs and the economy” with the green energy pause, while a similar number (46%) worry that it will only further increase electricity prices.

However, as Smith and the UCP prepare to battle Ottawa over its plans to institute a net-zero energy grid by 2035, there is plenty of support among Albertans to resist the federal government’s policies. Three-in-five (59%) feel the provincial government is right to push back against the federal government’s net zero plan.

Meanwhile, three months into its new mandate, the UCP government evidently has work to do on some key files. Three-in-five (60%) believe the Alberta government is performing poorly on health care, as it attempts to sort out the mess of lab testing in Calgary by undoing privatization it had implemented last year and it faces criticism for responding too slowly to an E. coli outbreak which has sickened more than 250, including many children.

More Key Findings:

• The top issues in the province as selected by Albertans are the rising cost of living (65%) and health care (49%). Environment and climate change (17%) fall behind public safety (29%), housing affordability (29%), the economy generally (24%) and energy policy (24%).

• At least half in all regions in the province believe the government is right to resist the federal government’s push to net-zero emissions. Support is highest, however, in areas outside of the province’s two largest cities, at seven-in-ten (70%).

• After a record summer wildfire season, Albertans are split in their assessments of the provincial government’s performance on emergency management. Two-in-five (43%) say it has done well on that file, while two-in-five (38%) disagree.