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A new survey conducted earlier this year suggests Albertans are the least likely of all Canadians to believe in global warming.

The wide-ranging survey was conducted for the Ecofiscal Commission. (See full survey below).

When asked: “Is the Earth warming?” 61 per cent of Canadians said there is conclusive or solid evidence to prove this, while 11 per cent said there is little to no evidence to suggest this.

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The survey showed Alberta residents are the least likely to believe the Earth is warming. When asked the same question, 52 per cent of those surveyed said there is conclusive or solid evidence to prove it. Sixteen per cent of Albertans said there is little or no evidence to suggest the Earth is warming.

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Graph from the "perceptions of carbon pricing in Canada" survey conducted for the Ecofiscal Commission. Credit, Ecofiscal Commission Graph from the "perceptions of carbon pricing in Canada" survey conducted for the Ecofiscal Commission. Credit, Ecofiscal Commission

The majority of Canadians surveyed believe climate change is happening and that it is caused by human behaviour.

While 70 per cent of Canadians said climate change is caused by human and industrial activity, just 54 per cent of Albertans voted this way. The remaining 46 per cent of Albertans said climate change is happening because of natural patterns in the Earth’s environment.

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The survey showed 60 per cent of Canadians want governments to take more action to combat climate change. Forty-six per cent of Albertan surveyed said they wanted to see more action taken.

When asked to rank how best to reduce emissions, carbon pricing came in third place, behind offering subsidies to encourage the use of low-carbon technologies and implementing rules and regulations that require emissions reductions in specific ways or in specific sectors.

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When asked if their province already has a carbon price in place, Albertans ranked the highest with 78 per cent saying yes, a carbon price is in place. Overall, 32 per cent of Canadians said their province already has a carbon price in place, while a whopping 41 per cent said they were unsure what the situation was in their province.

Graph from the "perceptions of carbon pricing in Canada" survey conducted for the Ecofiscal Commission. Credit, Ecofiscal Commission Graph from the "perceptions of carbon pricing in Canada" survey conducted for the Ecofiscal Commission. Credit, Ecofiscal Commission

READ MORE: How much is the 2018 Alberta carbon tax hike costing you?

The survey was conducted online between Feb. 9 and 15, 2018 and polled 2,250 Canadians over the age of 18. The survey is considered accurate within 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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