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After nine months of the provincial government’s carbon levy and rebate policies, the majority of Albertans remain opposed to the program, a newly released study indicates.

But opposition has softened compared with a survey conducted this time last year, according to Faron Ellis, research chair of the Citizen Society Research Lab (CSRL) at Lethbridge College and principal investigator of the study.

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“This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to poll all Albertans with all the information out there, and Albertans having experienced nine months of both the carbon tax and the rebate,” said Ellis.

“Opposition is not as intense as it was a year ago.”

According to the data collected by Lethbridge College students this fall, 59.5 per cent of Albertans remain opposed to the carbon levy, compared with 67.2 per cent who were opposed at the same time last year.

Nearly two of every five Albertans, or 38.7 per cent, are strongly opposed to the carbon levy program, down from the majority (52.5 per cent) who were strongly opposed in last year’s survey. Two of every five Albertans, or 40.5 per cent, are supportive of the policy, up from one-third, or 32.8 per cent, last year.