BC remains split on Kinder Morgan pipeline: 48% support, 44% oppose, 9% undecided

One-in-four opponents would consider acts of civil disobedience to stop or disrupt construction

VANCOUVER, Feb. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline is intensifying in British Columbia with 23% of those opposed to the pipeline now saying they will consider engaging in acts of civil disobedience to stop or disrupt pipeline construction according to a new Insights West poll.

Kinder Morgan Canada is proposing to build 980 km of new pipeline to transport 890,000 barrels a day of diluted bitumen from Alberta to the British Columbia Coast. The new pipeline will pass through densely populated urban areas in Metro Vancouver and up to eight First Nations reserves along the route. The Government of Canada granted approval for the project on November 29, 2016, with the British Columbia provincial government formally stating it will "employ every tool available… to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline."

Support for the new Kinder Morgan pipeline stands at 48% (+3 since November, 2017), opposition at 44% (-1), with 9% of residents undecided. Opposition to the project is highest among Women (52%); people aged 35-to-54 (51%); and residents of Metro Vancouver (49%) and Vancouver Island (45%).

When opponents were asked what actions they would consider to oppose the pipeline, two thirds (65%) would consider writing a letter to their MP (+3 since November 2017), 54% (+5) would consider attending a public protest or march, and almost one-in-four opponents (23%, +8) saying they consider engaging in acts of civil disobedience to stop or disrupt construction. The online study of 938 British Columbian adults conducted between February 7 and February 9, 2018, has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

According to NDP Member of Parliament for Burnaby South Kennedy Stewart, "These polling results reflect what I see on the ground here in British Columbia. Thousands of pipeline opponents have contacted their MPs and participated in marches. Now it appears many are prepared to take their opposition to another level."

Stewart, a public policy professor on leave from Simon Fraser University, also stated "When these polling results are applied to the 4 million adult residents, they suggest about 400,000 British Columbians – 10% of the adult population – are considering direct action against this pipeline construction. This is the kind of result that keeps me up at night with worry."

SOURCE Kennedy Stewart, MP for Burnaby South

For further information: For further detailed poll tables or other information contact: [email protected] 604.360.4921