VANCOUVER – A recent Insights West online poll found that awareness of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project is significantly lower than the awareness of the Northern Gateway Pipeline project. Compared to Albertans, B.C. adults report higher awareness levels and are more likely to oppose both pipeline projects.
Three-in-five (60 per cent) B.C. adults are aware of the proposed plans to expand the Trans Mountain system by laying a twin pipe along much of the Trans Mountain route from Edmonton to Burnaby. This compares to the almost universal 96 per cent awareness of the Northern Gateway project.
Awareness of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion stands at just 28 per cent among Albertans compared to 87 per cent awareness of the Northern Gateway project.
In both provinces, older residents aged 55 plus are more likely to be aware of the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion compared to their younger counterparts.
Levels of support and opposition for the twinning of the Trans Mountain Pipeline vary significantly between Alberta and B.C. residents. Three quarters of Albertans support the initiative (35 per cent strongly support) compared to only 38 per cent of British Columbians (12 per cent strongly support).
This is almost identical to differences between Alberta and B.C. adults’ support of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline (75 per cent support in Alberta; 35 per cent support in B.C.).
Among B.C. adults, 57 per cent oppose the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (31 per cent strongly oppose) compared to 23 per cent of Albertans who oppose the expansion (13 per cent strongly oppose). Only four per cent of British Columbians and one per cent of Albertans who are familiar with the proposed expansion are unsure if they support or oppose it.
"Despite the overall significance of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, this project has flown under the radar of most British Columbia residents in comparison to the Enbridge Northern Gateway project," says Jane Ha-Trapp, vice president of Insights West. “That being said, it seems that B.C. residents for the most part simply oppose pipeline projects period – whether it be in their own backyard, or in a more remote region of the province.”
Interestingly, in Alberta both genders are equally as likely to support the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, while support among British Columbians is significantly higher among men (51 per cent) than women (22 per cent). Among Albertans, support for the pipeline expansion project is significantly higher among those aged 55 plus (87 per cent support).
Insights West is a progressive, Western-based, full-service marketing research company.
Results are based on an online study conducted Jan. 14-20, among 512 British Columbians and 562 Albertans aged 18 and over who are Your Insights panel members. YourInsights.ca is Insights West's in-house access panel offering on-demand samples for both clients and research suppliers looking for Western Canadian populations. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for B.C. and Alberta for age, gender and region. While statistical margins of error are arguably not applicable to online panels/online studies of this nature, Insights West has assumed that the same margins of error apply as if it were a true unweighted random probability sample with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points for BC and +/- 4.1 percentage points for Alberta, 19 times out of 20.