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More generally, the polling suggests an increase in polarization on carbon pricing and climate action. While 60 per cent of respondents want their governments to take more action to fight climate change, 16 per cent want to see less action — and that figure has doubled in the past three years.

Beugin thinks that has to do with an increase in “misinformation” as the debate about carbon pricing becomes more politically charged.

The survey results suggest many Canadians are ambivalent about whether carbon pricing works as it’s supposed to. Nearly half of respondents said a carbon price would simply increase the cost of living and doing business, without changing energy use.

Maybe we've spent too much time in the bubble and maybe there's a need to go back to the basics

Most respondents preferred regulations requiring emissions reductions and subsidies that support low-carbon technology over carbon pricing, though the Ecofiscal Commission insists that those measures are much more expensive than a carbon price.

“I think that … there’s increasing support for action and there’s even increasing support for carbon pricing. But there continues to be a lack of understanding … as to how and why and where carbon pricing works,” Beugin said. “Maybe we’ve spent too much time in the bubble and maybe there’s a need to go back to the basics.”

To that end, the commission has released a new report, called Clearing the Air, to help explain how carbon pricing works.

Despite the uncertainty about carbon pricing, the results show that 61 per cent of respondents believe there’s solid or conclusive evidence of global warming, while just 11 per cent believe there’s little to no evidence. In total, 84 per cent believe a transition to a low-carbon economy is a good goal, but 60 per cent believe Canada should continue to develop its oil and gas resources during that transition.

The federal government has promised to impose its own carbon tax on any province that doesn’t create its own. In total, 65 per cent of respondents said they would accept or support that policy.

Abacus Data surveyed 2,250 Canadians between Feb. 9 and 15, using randomly selected members of online panels. The margin of error for a comparable random sample is +/-2.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

• Email: mforrest@postmedia.com | Twitter: MauraForrest