This article was written by the Canadian Press and was published in the Toronto Star on September 14, 2023.

A large majority of Canadians are worried about climate change and believe it is the reason for an increase in extreme weather, a new national poll suggests. But the Leger poll says only a small fraction of people listed climate change as the top issue facing Canada today, and many say they’re only likely to change their behaviour if that doesn’t come with a cost.

The polling firm asked more than 1,500 people about their views on climate change in an online survey conducted between Sept. 8 and 10. The poll, which is weighted to account for demographic differences, can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

It comes at the end of Canada’s worst wildfire season in history.

Against that backdrop, 72 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they are worried or very worried about climate change and 21 per cent said they were not very worried. Only seven per cent said they weren’t worried about it at all. Respondents from Quebec were most likely to be worried or very worried, at 84 per cent, while Albertans were the least likely to be worried, at 55 per cent.

Younger Canadians are more concerned about the climate than older Canadians, and women are more worried than men.

The largest share — 33 per cent — said inflation is the top issue, 16 per cent chose housing, and eight per cent pointed to interest rates.