Is it time to move on from the Keystone XL pipeline? That’s a question Canadians are rather divided on, according to a new nationwide survey.
Fifty-nine per cent of Canadians said they want to see the country move on from the cross-border pipeline project, according to an Angus Reid poll released Tuesday (Jan. 26).
Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden repealed the permit for the roughly $8-million pipeline planned to transport Canadian oil from Alberta to Nebraska each day.
Results from the survey reveal two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadians surveyed think Biden’s decision was a “bad thing” for the province of Alberta.
As it stands, that province has invested $1.5-billion into the project. On Monday, the federal Conservatives called for an emergency debate on the issue.
Still, the landscape of support for the project remains divided.
A majority – 65 per cent of Canadians – disagree with the project’s cancellation.
READ MORE: Trudeau, Biden to talk today as death of Keystone XL reverberates in Canada
Other opinions varied by province. The greatest support for what experts have referred to as the project’s “unlikely” revival was found in Alberta (72 per cent), followed by Saskatchewan (62 per cent), Manitoba (49 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (43 per cent).
The province with the least support for the pipeline was Quebec, with 74 per cent of those surveyed against the project.
Provinces like Ontario and B.C. were close behind with 60 to 62 per cent in opposition.
Of those surveyed, many reported concerns over Keystone XL’s impact on the environment.
@sarahgrowch
sarah.grochowski@bpdigital.ca
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