Executive
Summary
Prepared for Environment and
Climate Change Canada
Supplier: Leger Marketing Inc.
Contract Number: K1F70-221148/001/CY
Contract Value: $56,500 (including HST)
Award Date: 2022-03-31
Delivery Date: September 16, 2022
Registration Number: POR 143-21
For more information on this
report, please contact Environment and Climate Change Canada at POR-ROP@ec.gc.ca.
Ce
rapport est aussi disponible en français
Public Opinion Research on the National
Adaptation Strategy – Executive Summary
This public
opinion research report presents the results of an online survey conducted by Léger
Marketing Inc. on behalf of Environment and Climate Change Canada. The quantitative
research study was conducted between June and August 2022.
Cette publication
est aussi disponible en français sous le titre :
Recherche sur l’opinion
publique à propos de la stratégie nationale d’adaptation– Sommaire exécutif
Unless otherwise
specified, you may not reproduce materials in this publication, in whole or in part,
for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission
from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s copyright administrator. To obtain
permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes,
apply for Crown Copyright Clearance by contacting:
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Public Inquiries Centre
12th Floor, Fontaine Building
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-938-3860
Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)
Email: enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada,
as represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2022.
Catalogue Number: En4-531/2-2023E-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-46916-4
Related
publications (registration
number: POR 143-21):
Catalogue number (Executive Summary, French): En4-531/2-2023F-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-46918-8
Leger Marketing
Inc. (Leger) is pleased to present this report to Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC) on the findings from the National Adaptation Strategy
(NAS) quantitative survey, designed to learn about the vulnerabilities that
people living in Canada are facing from climate change.
More and more evidence is pointing to the
urgency for climate action, underscoring the need for communities to adapt to
the changing climate and prepare for the most challenging impacts of climate
change. A noticeable increase in extreme weather events across Canada,
particularly extreme weather events in B.C. and Atlantic Canada in 2021, have
made the importance of adapting to a changing climate top of mind for people
living in Canada.
Under the strengthened climate plan, released in
December 2020, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, the
Government of Canada committed to develop a National Adaptation Strategy (NAS)
to build on the successes of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and
Climate Change and create a more ambitious, strategic, and collaborative
approach to climate adaptation. The NAS establishes a shared vision for climate
resilience in Canada, identifies key priorities for increased collaboration and
establishes a framework for measuring progress at the national level.
The NAS provides a blueprint for whole of society
action to help communities and residents of Canada better adapt to and prepare
for the impacts of climate change. A crucial part of determining what actions
are feasible or would be easily adopted by residents is to first understand
their opinions and perspectives on climate change. Therefore, a survey was
developed to ask people living in Canada about recent experiences they have had,
their feelings towards climate change, and what they are currently doing to
adapt.
The survey was designed to provide Environment
and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) with insights on:
·
Whether Canadians understand the impacts of
climate change and its effects on health and safety of Canadians, the
environment, and socio-economic system;
·
Whether Canadians are aware of governmental
actions being taken to adapt to the impacts of climate change;
·
What adaptation solutions Canadians are aware of
in their communities and beyond, and whether they would support increased investments
for these solutions;
·
What language and framing resonates with
Canadians in terms of adapting and building resilience to the impacts of
climate change and increasing literacy on this issue.
Similar to
the way the NAS is laid out, the survey also focused on five systems, Disaster
Resilience, Health and Wellbeing, Natural Environment, Resilient
Infrastructure, and the Economy, where participants were asked individual
questions pertaining to each of these systems.
Intended use of the research
The findings of
the survey will be used in the development of policies, programs and
initiatives, pertaining to the NAS to improve communications, to gain critical
insights on the opinions, issues, and challenges Canadians are facing, and to
better prepare communities for the impacts of climate change.
This public
opinion research was conducted via a hybrid approach, using Computer Aided Telephone
Interviewing (CATI) technology and Computer Aided Web Interviewing (CAWI)
technology. Fieldwork for the survey was carried out from June 23rd
to August 2nd, 2022. A total of 2,008 Canadians aged 18 or older
were surveyed, with a focus on those who have been most affected by climate
change impacts. Detailed information on the communities that were included in
the sampling procedure is presented in Appendix A.2 (of the full report). The survey targeted
the general population and individuals who have been most affected by climate
change impacts, who were originally supposed to be targeted via telephone. However,
considering the response rate and the numbers available, data collection
maximized web respondents to help reach the objectives. Ultimately, the sample included
1,000 respondents living in a community that is impacted by climate change,
making up half of the overall sample. The average length of interview was 16
minutes and 35 seconds on the web, and 27 minutes on the phone. Leger used
their panel to target randomized people for the general population and for the
web portion and used their phone lists for the telephone interviews for the
populations most impacted by climate change. The response rates for both the web
and phone portions of the survey were 15%, meaning for every 100 calls (or web
survey ads), 15 people completed the survey. Since panel-based samples are not
probabilistic in nature, no margin of error can be calculated.
Weighting was
done according to age, gender, province, education, spoken language, presence
of children in the household, and belonging to a community that is most
affected by climate change or not, to help readjust the sample for minor
imbalances.
Leger adheres to
the most stringent guidelines for quantitative research. The survey instrument
was compliant with the Standards of Conduct of Government of Canada Public
Opinion Research.
A complete
methodological description is provided in the Appendices section of the final
report (please see Appendix A of the full report).
The total
estimated value of this contract amounts to CAD $56,500 (including HST).
Sensibility and habits
·
A vast majority of respondents consider climate
change to be an important issue (86%), and eight in ten are concerned about its
impacts on Canada (79%).
·
Climate change impacts have become more severe
according to seven in ten respondents (70%).
·
Canadians have somewhat negative attitudes
towards climate change as they are afraid of its impacts, and around half of
them feel sad and helpless (53% and 52% respectively). However, respondents
remain optimistic as they are motivated to do what they can to protect themselves
(83%), and six in ten believe there will be adaptation solutions (61%).
·
According to respondents, having a list of
actions that they can take (52%) and better understanding the positive and
direct impacts of changing some of their habits (49%) are the most efficient
ways for Canadians to help themselves and their families to adapt to the
impacts of climate change.
·
Three in four (77%) Canadians believe they could
be doing more to adapt to the future impacts of climate change.
Climate change impacts
·
Rated on a 10-level scale, planting vegetation
(7.5), having an emergency kit (6.8), and rainwater harvesting (6.5) were
considered to be the most impactful actions in terms of reducing an
individual’s risk to climate change impacts, while wildfire management (7.1),
stormwater, flood or erosion management (7.0), drought management (7.0) are the
most impactful in reducing the community's risk to climate change.
·
More frequent extreme weather and climate events
(55%), reduced glacier cover (45%), and sea-level rise (43%) are the top three
impacts of climate change according to respondents.
·
Seven in ten respondents (70%) predict that
climate change will become more serious within the next 5 to 10 years.
·
Respondents are somewhat aware of climate change
impacts on different aspects: around three in four consider that our
environment, our infrastructure, our security, and our health and well-being
are already being impacted by climate change.
·
In terms of infrastructure specifically, water
(79%) and energy and utilities (70%) are the aspects Canadians are most worried
about. In terms biodiversity, freshwater ecosystems (56%) are considered the
most worrisome, while agriculture (75%), forestry (65%) and fisheries (61%) are
the sectors people are most concerned about of the Canadian economy when it
comes to climate change.
Awareness of government actions to adapt to climate
change
·
Three in four respondents believe that more
could be done for them to feel prepared (74%) for more impacts of climate
change in the future.
·
Only 5% of surveyed Canadians had heard of the
National Adaptation Strategy prior to the survey, and a majority of those who
did could not describe their understanding of it (63%).
·
Around half of respondents were not aware of
measures being implemented in their respective communities (51%), but those who
were mentioned urban greening initiatives (18%) and updated flood maps (14%)
mainly.
·
The most important reasons to adapt to climate
change according to respondents are to protect our agriculture and food
production (70%), and for future generations (61%).
·
Half of respondents said that they are part of a
community (50%), but one in five noted that they are not close enough to people
in their community to ask for a favour (20%).
Those most affected by climate change impacts
·
A vast majority of respondents have experienced a
climate-related event (81%), heatwaves being the most common one (59%).
·
These climate-related events have caused a
variety of impacts on communities and households, including physical health
problems (18%), house/property damage (16%) and mental health problems (15%).
·
Around one individual in ten who have
experienced a climate-related event expected more actions to be taken by their
provincial (29%) and federal (31%) government. These two institutions also come
out at the top of the list in terms of support expectations (federal
government: 31%; provincial/territorial government: 30%)
·
Most respondents said it took less than a year
for their life to return to normal (59%).
·
Three in four of those who have been most
affected by climate change impacts said they were concerned about the future
considering how the event they experienced was managed (73%).
How people who have been most affected by climate change impacts
differ from the rest
·
Overall, respondents who have been most affected
by climate change impacts were more likely to consider climate change to be an
important issue, and they were also more concerned about it.
·
They were more likely to think that the issue
has gotten worse and that it will become more serious within the next 5 to 10
years.
·
While they showed more negative attitudes
towards climate change (e.g., sadness, helplessness), they were still motivated
to protect themselves and were hopeful of solutions.
·
They were more likely to feel that climate
change impacts the economy, the environment, health and well-being, security,
infrastructure, and Canadian culture and identity.
·
Around one in four of those who have been most
affected by climate change impacts considered themselves more at risk than the
communities around them, and they were more likely to report experiencing most
climate-related events. Around a third of them expected more actions to be
taken by their provincial and federal government, and eight in ten feel that
more should be done for them to feel prepared.
Phrasing and wording preferences
·
When asked about their favorite term referring
to adaptation to climate change impacts, "Preparing for climate
change" came out as the most preferred term (23%), closely followed by
climate preparedness (20%).
·
The sentences using the term "climate
preparedness" harnessed the most support from respondents.
·
French-speakers also seemed to like the term
"adaptive capacity" (capacité d'adaptation / adaptabilité). While
they did not express their preference for the term explicitly, they were more
likely to agree with the statements using this phrasing.
·
English-speakers preferred the term
"climate preparedness".
The views and
observations expressed in this document do not reflect those of Environment and
Climate Change Canada. This report was compiled by Leger, based on the research
conducted specifically for this project.
Political
neutrality certification
Research Firm:
Leger Marketing Inc. (Leger)
Contract Number:
K1F70-221148/001/CY
Contract award
date: 2022-03-31
Leger Marketing
Inc. hereby certifies that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of
Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Policy on
Communications and Federal Identity and the Directive on the Management of
Communications. Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on
electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the
electorate, or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.
Signed:
Christian
Bourque
Senior
Researcher, Léger
Date: March 21,
2022
