Environment a priority for more Canadians, poll suggests

While health care continues to be the most important issue facing Canadians, concerns about the environment have shot up to rank a close second, according to a CBC News survey.

But of the 2,005 Canadians surveyed by Environics Research Group between Nov. 2 and 6, 71 per cent said the federal Conservatives' proposed clean air plan is not tough enough in dealing with environmental issues.

"A majority of Canadians of every political stripe think the approach is not enough," Donna Dasko, the senior vice-president of Environics, said Wednesday. "So this is cutting through party lines."

The survey found that 16 per cent of Canadians said health care is the most important issue facing the country today.

That figure is down from 22 per cent in an Environics poll conducted during the last election.

But 13 per cent said the environment was the top issue, up from just four per cent during the election.

Dasko said that during the 1990s, the environment, as an important issue, hovered around five per cent, mostly because of the recession. But with the subject continuously in the media, that figure rose to 10 per cent about five months ago.

The survey also found that 10 per cent of Canadians believe the Afghanistan mission is the most important issue, an issue that didn't register at all in the January poll.

Dasko said voter attitudes have changed since the January election.

"There's been a very significant shift in the public environment in terms of issues," she said.

The results of the survey are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.