October 31, 2029 – As municipalities in BC debate imposing or reversing regulations effectively banning renewable natural gas and natural gas as a heating source, new polling released today by the BC Coalition for Affordable Energy shows a very high level of public preference amongst British Columbians for allowing consumers to choose how they heat their homes and businesses – rather than enacting bans on heating sources.
Specifically, three quarters (74%) of British Columbians prefer homeowners and businesses being able to choose between natural gas or electricity as their heating source, compared to just one-in-ten (12%) who prefer that their municipal government ban natural gas and renewable natural gas. Fourteen percent (14%) are unsure.
Strong majority preference for consumer choice over municipal bans was found across all gender and age brackets, provincial sub-regions, prominent ethnocultural groups, and provincial party supporters. Indeed, no fewer than 60% across all of these sub-segments expressed preference for choice and no more than 20% preferred a municipal ban.
These are the results of a public opinion poll conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights on behalf of the BC Coalition for Affordable Energy. From October 2 to 20, 2024, Pollara conducted a randomly-selected, reliable online survey amongst N=1,275 adult British Columbians. Online research panel surveys cannot be a margin of error, but – for comparison purposes – a probability sample of this size carries a margin of error of +2.7%, 19 times out of 20. The dataset has been weighted by gender and region Census statistics as well as voter turnout age statistics. Pollara Strategic Insights is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), and this research was conducted in compliance with CRIC standards.
For additional information and details from this poll, visit the BC Coalition for Affordable Energy website or see the full results.
