Canadians see climate change as greater threat than terrorism

climate-change11According to a recent poll, Canadians are much more likely to view climate change as a “critical threat” to Canada’s “vital interests” than international terrorism.

Commissioned by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI) and conducted by the Innovative Research Group Inc., the poll found that 49% of Canadians believe climate change to be a critical threat to Canada’s vital interests, about the same number as the 52% who saw it as a critical threat in a similar poll conducted in 2004.

By contrast, only about 28% of those polled view international terrorism as a critical threat, down from 49% in 2004. A similar percentage of Canadians, 27%, consider “large numbers of immigrants and refugees coming into Canada” to be a critical threat (up from 21% in 2004).

Albertans are the most likely to see immigrants and refugees as a critical threat (35%) and the least likely to see climate change as a critical threat (28%).

Further coverage:

Laura Stone, Canadians say climate change a bigger threat than terrorism: poll, National Post, 11 January 2010.

Tags: Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, CDFAI, Climate change, Public opinion, Terrorism