Global Warming Is Canadians' Top Arctic Priority: Poll

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Canadians want to see the federal government make global warming its major focus in Canada's North, according to a national poll released May 29.

Twenty nine per cent of Canadians chose "global warming" when asked what the federal government's top priority should be in the Canadian Arctic. "Environmental protection" came second at 26 per cent, for a combined total of 55 per cent.

Addressing social problems was respondents' third choice at 18 per cent, followed by the federal government's current focus, "Canadian sovereignty," in fourth place at 17 per cent. Just 7 per cent of Canadians say that economic development is a top priority in the Arctic.

In 2007, Arctic sea ice shrunk to 23 per cent below its previous record low. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's most authoritative climate science body, the Arctic has been warming at almost twice the global average rate in the past 100 years. The IPCC also states that some projections have found that the Arctic's late-summer sea ice will be almost entirely gone by the second half of this century.

The poll, conducted in English and French by McAllister Opinion Research from April 29 to May 9, surveyed 1,007 Canadians aged 18 years and older. A random sample of this size yields a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The poll was released by the Pembina Institute.