Poll: Canadians Want Parties to Prioritize Nature in Federal Election

Unceded Algonquin Territory — Ottawa, ON | November 27, 2024

The EKOS poll shows that four in five Canadians (84%) want stronger government action to protect forests and wildlife (up from 81% in 2023). Support for forest protection crosses party lines, and includes three in four Conservative party supporters.

“Despite the polarization in politics today, Canadians of all stripes want forests, wildlife, and nature protected,” said Michael Polanyi, Policy and Campaign Manager at Nature Canada. “Protecting nature is not only good for ensuring a healthy and sustainable future—it’s a winning issue for all parties.”

Seven in ten poll respondents said they are less likely to vote for a party that has no platform commitments to protect nature. A strong majority support platform promises to phase out government subsidies to companies that harm nature, and to fund new national parks.

“In an era of intense polarization on key issues, the issues of conservation and nature enjoy broad cross-partisan support,” said Frank Graves, President of EKOS Research Associates.

The poll also reveals strong support for corporate responsibility towards nature.

Nine in ten Canadians, including 86% of Conservative supporters, want transparency about the environmental impacts of the logging industry. (Last year Canada’s Office of the Auditor General criticized the federal government for not transparently reporting the greenhouse gas emissions from logging).

Eighty-four percent of respondents are concerned about foreign-linked logging companies profiting from forests in Canada. Paper Excellence, a company that controls millions of hectares of forest in Canada and the United States, has strong ties to a conglomerate in Indonesia with a history of destructive forest practices.

“Canadians expect governments to hold logging companies—especially those with foreign ties—accountable for the damage they cause to our forests,” said Michael Polanyi. “With recent reports showing that logging is one of Canada’s most carbon polluting sectors, the federal government needs to do more to monitor and reduce the harms caused by industrial-scale logging.”

The poll was conducted online between October 15 and 21, 2024 with a sample size of 1,057 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Frank Graves noted that the research was conducted to the highest methodological standards using the Probit random probability panel.

Nature Canada is Canada’s voice for nature. For 85 years, Nature Canada has helped protect over 144 million acres of parks and wildlife areas in Canada and countless species. Today, Nature Canada represents a network of over 250,000 members and supporters and more than 1,200 nature organizations.

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For more information:

Michael Polanyi
343-553-6060
mpolanyi@naturecanada.ca