Even if it means having to continue to consume oil and natural gas, both producing it in Quebec rather than importing it, judges a little more than half of the Quebec population, a rate that is rising sharply once morest the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine.
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This is at least what emerges from a poll released Thursday which was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute (IEDM), a right-wing “think tank” that campaigns in favor of the exploitation of Quebec’s hydrocarbon resources.
According to the survey, 52% of Quebecers consider it preferable that Quebec develop the exploitation of its oil resources, once morest 28% of respondents who believe that the importation of hydrocarbons used in the province should continue.
This is a net rebound of 9% of Quebecers in favor of the exploitation of hydrocarbons from here compared to last year, a phenomenon which is hardly surprising given that the poll was launched in day following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which pushed the barrel of oil to historic highs.
“It is clear that the energy issue leaves no one indifferent and that Quebecers understand the role that we must play by producing natural gas, in particular to export it to our European allies”, commented the president and general manager of the MEI, Michel Kelly-Gagnon.
This renewed interest for Quebecers in the exploitation of hydrocarbons runs counter to the will of the government, which indicated that it wanted to ban any exploitation or research project last fall.
Moreover, despite the interest of Quebecers in the exploitation of their oil resources, 45% of respondents to the survey said that they support the government in banning the exploitation of hydrocarbons, compared to 36% who disapprove of this decision.
Last fall, the MEI called this decision a “historic error,” arguing that the exploitation of natural gas alone might increase Quebec’s GDP by $93 billion.
In any case, if there is one point on which Quebeckers agree, it is to denounce the high tax rate on gasoline. Indeed, 73% of respondents said that there are too many taxes on fuel, once morest 15% who think the opposite, while the price of a liter of gas briefly flirted with $2 last week in some sectors of Quebec, including the metropolitan area.
The survey was conducted among 1,007 Quebec adults, from February 25 to March 2.
