Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 7 February 2025:
A national Leger poll conducted last weekend, as Canadians waited for President Trump’s threatened tariffs to hit the country, shows a rare level of national unity in opposition to U.S. ownership of natural resource projects in Canada—including a gas pipeline in British Columbia.
When asked “do you support or oppose American companies taking greater ownership of natural resource projects in Canada,” fully 80 per cent of respondents across the country were opposed, with 70 per cent strongly opposed. Only 10 per cent support greater U.S. ownership.
Commenting on the poll results, John Young, LNG Senior Strategist at Climate Action Network Canada, said: “Donald Trump has unified Canadians in defence of our country and our right to determine our own future. Handing control of Canada’s strategic energy resources to Trump’s corporate allies would be a grave mistake. Governments across the country must stand firm in the face of the President’s bullying, not make rushed decisions that compromise our sovereignty for the benefit of American billionaires.”
Opposition to greater U.S. ownership is highest in British Columbia at 83 per cent, with 76 per cent strongly opposed, and in Quebec, with 83 per cent opposed. This finding comes as the B.C. government faces intense pressure from oil and gas lobbyists to fast-track more pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.
One of these projects is the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG terminal, owned by Texas-based Western LNG, with investment from Blackstone Inc. and Apollo Global Management, two Wall Street private equity firms with close ties to President Donald Trump.
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest finance companies with $1 trillion in assets under management. CEO Steve Schwarzman has been an advisor to Trump since 2016 and donated $39 million to elect Republican candidates in the 2024 U.S. election.
Blackstone is also the lead investor on the associated Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project, which would supply fracked gas to the Ksi Lisims terminal. Ksi Lisims LNG is backed by the Nisga’a Nation, which also holds a partial equity stake in PRGT.
Asked whether they support fast-tracking the PRGT pipeline, Canadians oppose the idea by a factor of more than two to one: 53 per cent of Canadians do not want the pipeline to be fast-tracked, compared to 21 per cent in support. Sixty-two per cent in British Columbia are opposed.
Read the full polling results here.
The omnibus poll was conducted by Leger Marketing for Dogwood, a B.C. citizens’ group opposed to PRGT. The online survey gave 1,553 Canadian respondents 18 years of age or older the option of answering questions in English or in French.
Respondents were randomly recruited from Leger’s LEO’s online panel. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than ±2.49 per cent (19 times out of 20). Data was collected January 31 to February 3, 2025. Results were weighted to ensure a representative sample of the Canadian population.
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