The energy transition is essential and workers need support: poll

Most Canadians believe the energy transition will be challenging but necessary and want solutions to support them through it, says a new poll.

About 87 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed climate change is a challenge that needs to be addressed and 72 per cent strongly or somewhat supported shifting energy consumption from oil and gas to renewable energy.

The poll commissioned by Iron & Earth was conducted online from Dec. 7 to 11, 2023. It surveyed 1,005 adult residents across Canada about climate change and the energy transition.

Iron and Earth is an oilpatch worker-led not-for-profit organization that provides workers with skills and opportunities to transition to more climate-friendly lines of work. The organization previously commissioned a 2021 Abacus Data poll that indicated a majority of Canadians working in the fossil fuel industry worried about being left behind and were interested in switching to jobs in the net-zero economy.

“This is something that is very pressing and on people's minds,” said Luisa Da Silva, executive director of Iron & Earth, in an interview with Canada’s National Observer.

These findings are “extremely supportive of the work that we do” and allow Iron & Earth — and other organizations — to go back to governments and illustrate that people want to get involved in the energy transition, said Da Silva. Governments “need to put support behind this [and] create an environment in which it's easy for somebody to make that change,” she said.

“A big area where we can put a lot of work towards is the [36 per cent] of Canadians who are either not very aware or not aware at all that the transition is already underway,” said Da Silva. Ensuring people are aware of climate change and government programs that help tackle both climate change and affordability — like home retrofits, for example — is important, she said.

The poll showed almost four out of 10 workers are worried about losing their jobs if they don't get training or career support.

“We need to have all of our political leaders, regardless of what political affiliation they have, getting on board supporting Bill C-50 and putting Canadians’ future first,” said Da Silva.

The Sustainable Jobs Act — Bill C-50 — was delayed in the committee stage due to interventions from Conservative MPs and still needs to be read for a third time and debated in the House of Commons before being sent to the Senate.

Of federal Conservative voters, 63 per cent agree Canada is experiencing the impacts of climate change and 53 per cent support the shift from oil and gas to clean renewable energy, according to the poll. Support for the energy transition was even higher among Canadians intending to vote for the federal Liberals, NDP and Greens, ranging from 84 per cent to 90 per cent.

Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer