A majority across Canada now supports LNG and oil pipelines, including British Columbians who used to be predominantly in opposition to such projects just a decade ago.
A research poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute says that 61 per cent of B.C. residents are in favour of the recently approved Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system.
Compared to public opinion on previous energy projects affecting the province, the poll is showing a shift toward more support.
In 2012, the numbers were flipped when 57 per cent expressed opposition for the Northern Gateway project, a proposed pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat.
That sentiment, even decreasing over time, remained about the same until 2019, when support for pipelines seemed to have slowly increased.In another survey in 2025, the opposition to the Northern Gateway project dropped to 32 per cent, for example.
The pollster says that a similar swing is happening nationwide, with currently 61 per cent of Canadians saying that economic growth is more important than environmental protection.
With 59 per cent of British Columbians in support of that statement and 41 per cent against it, those numbers are very similar in the westernmost province.
However, back in 2019, 55 per cent of people believed that protecting the environment should be the priority.
“The shift is evident in every province, with 24-point swings toward economic growth in both Manitoba and Quebec,” the poll said.
“In Alberta, where economic growth was already prioritized, the gap has widened further to 74 per cent.”
The changing attitude to energy projects, in particular pipelines, is also reflected in the fact that almost every third Canadian says that the federal government is doing “about right” in its effort to build new pipelines, an eight per cent increase compared to 2019.