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Just four in 10 respondents could recall reading, seeing or hearing something recently from the provincial government on the environment.

Of those people, 50 per cent cited the carbon tax as what they had heard about, followed by “using the Greenbelt for business development” at 14 per cent, “removal of environmental red tape for businesses” at seven per cent, “removal of programs to promote green energy sources” at six per cent, followed by “do not believe in climate change” and “lowering emissions” at four per cent.

Andrea Olive, an associate professor of political science and geography at the University of Toronto, said the top responses are all about removing environmental programs, rather than taking action on the environment.

“I would imagine Doug Ford’s cabinet, looking at this, this is not the news they wanted…coming on the heels of their climate plan,” she said.

Further, when respondents were asked for their opinion on what they had heard from the government on the environment, 45 per cent had a negative impression, versus 27 per cent with a positive impression. The rest were neutral.

Amanda Galbraith, a principal at communications firm Navigator and a former Conservative staffer, said those numbers wouldn’t raise alarm bells for her if she was in government.

“Historically, Conservatives have not had a ton of success in campaigning and governing and running on environmental issues,” she said. “It’s definitely not a front-and-centre issue that this government is putting forward. I’m guessing that’s because frankly their voters don’t see it as a major priority.”