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Most Canadians overvalue the contribution the oil sands industry make to the country’s economy, finding it hard to believe it only contributes 2% to Canada’s total Gross domestic Product (GDP), results of a recent poll published Friday show.
According to the survey conducted by polling firm Environics for the environmental group Environmental Defence, 57% of Canadians think the industry’s impact is larger than what Statistics Canada shows.
The study found that 41% of Canadians think the oil sands contribution to the world’s 11th largest economy is between 6 and 24 times higher than it actually is. Of those polled, 75% agree the country should shift its dependence on fossil fuels toward cleaner energy sources.
“We are routinely told our economy will sputter, governments won’t be able to balance budgets, and social services will have to be sacrificed if we don’t triple the size of the tar sands as fast as possible,” says Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. “But this simply isn’t true. The tar sands are not the primary driver of our economy, their contribution is relatively small and certainly not sufficient to justify the risks of planned massive expansion.”
Although the majority of Canadians believe the tar sands’ contribution to our economy is bigger than it really is, most Canadians also think we should be transitioning off the tar sands in favour of cleaner energy.
The polling shows a large majority of Canadians, 76 per cent, agree with the statement: Given concerns about climate change, Canada should be shifting its energy strategy away from dependence on fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy. Three quarters of Albertans felt this way. And the majority of Canadians, 66 per cent, want an economic strategy less focussed on tar sands development.
“The numbers speak for themselves. Canadians are clearly ready for a safer, cleaner, more prosperous energy future,” Gray says. “The government needs to catch up with Canadians and start the move away from high risk, high carbon, high cost tar sands.”
The oil industry and the federal government have invested tens of millions of dollars in slick tar sands public relations campaigns at home and abroad. At the same time, government’s support for clean energy has plummeted and there is continued failure to introduce regulations to control soaring climate change pollution from the oil and gas sector.
“It is profoundly wrongheaded that in the name of tar sands expansion and their purported importance to our economy, Canadian environment laws have been gutted, our international reputation has been tarnished, and our water, land, air and climate have been damaged. The tar sands account for a sliver of Canada’s economy,” Gray adds. “Canada has a lot more to offer. We could be leaders in an innovative, prosperous, and clean economy – we can and must do better.”
This polling data presents the findings of an online survey conducted among 1,011 adults from Wednesday June 18th through Monday, June 23rd, 2014. To qualify for this survey, respondents had to be 18 years of age or older and reside in Canada.
Agencies/Canadajournal
What is missing from story is the support economy benefits, it is like stimulus spending only results in the original spending and not any other.
Oilfield needs something hotshot from one place to another. Trains move oil. Trucks, pipes, etc are produced in ontario that are sold to industry. Lots of other examples…
Oil brings in currency from other countries and reduces buying foreign oil.
Amazing how the exact same people that tout the benefits of stimulus spending as 5x+ resultant jobs don’t here, all for sake of partisan politics.
(I personally know people who do hotshot for oil field, make very good income, and in turn buy trucks, motorcycles, quads, beer, restaurant food and all sorts of other stuff. Oil gets taxed lots, very high middle class wages get taxed lots, that is what pays very large chunk of social programs in canada right now.
In contrast paying wages to public employees even though they are taxed, comes from taxes so overall reduces money left for social programs. Yes public employees are needed but paying 2% of economy to them doesn’t have same benefit.
All you have to do is look at newfoundland, economy is booming there as result of a “small” amount of off shore oil, compared to how it was doing before. As well look at ontario, loss of some manufacturing jobs and increase in public employees and ontario is in a race with US and California and New York for bankrupcy that may make greece look minor as greece had someone to bail them out. In 10 years baby boombers retire, and Ontario has doubled debt in last 10 years…
stimulus of 2% by going every further in debt is a ponzi scheme that ends badly.
2% towards the economy?all these people u see in the airports in Canada that look like they are going to work ! Well they are thousands from all across the country, and guess where? The oil sands of alberta
It tells a lot about the authors of this piece when they use the term TAR sands. This is a term usually only used by the opposition to the oil industry. Very telling.
I know many people who have moved to Alberta and Northern BC as a result of the oil sands and these folks are buying homes here in BC and elsewhere and the support industries alone are very significant.
It is also interesting that they single out the oil sands part of the energy extraction industry here in Canada.
This so called poll and the conclusions reached by the author and friends are very suspect.
So we are supposed to believe the unsupported comments of Tim Gray who is with the environment defense group. I would have a lot more trust in this conclusion with some evidence and from a source who was neutral.
I do not want to hear chatter from the oil companies nor the Suzuki group, neither of whom have much credibility
except for their own interest groups.
Give us verifiable facts.