Believe quality of life is tied to growth of the oil and gas industry, CAPP poll finds
An overwhelming percentage of Albertans see accessing global energy markets as an economic priority, and believe that quality of life is tied to growth of the oil and gas industry, according to an Ipsos poll commissioned by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) that was released Friday.
The Ipsos poll, conducted between Sept. 17 and 22, 2015, found that:
- 91 percent of Albertans believe oil-and-gas growth is important to the future prosperity of the province;
- 91 percent of Albertans also believe it’s just as important to get Canada’s oil and natural gas to global markets as it is to get Canadian beef, grain and lumber to those same global markets; and
- 80 percent of Albertans believe that without new pipelines accessing Canada’s coasts and reaching foreign energy markets, Canadians and Albertans are putting a lot of jobs at risk.
At the same time, only 43 percent of Albertans believe the overall economy is in good condition, compared to 62 percent when this Ipsos issues-tracking series began in July. CAPP estimates that about 36,000 jobs, most of them in Alberta, have been lost in the oil and gas sector in 2015.
“People are increasingly worried about their jobs and the health of the Alberta economy, both today and in the future,” says CAPP president Tim McMillan. “Now is the time for all Albertans, for industry and government, to work together on a balanced approach to make our province a great place to build a business – and to create and protect jobs.”
Enbridge has long held that global access – reaching coastal markets, achieving fair market value, and connecting refiners to reliable supply – is a strategic imperative for North America’s energy industry.
Just Thursday, Enbridge Inc. president and CEO Al Monaco was a guest on CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer, noting that “it’s amazing that, in North America, we don’t have connectivity to the rest of the globe. We’ve got this tremendous resource base, but we don’t have connectivity – either for natural gas in enough quantity, or certainly for crude oil.”
CAPP’s news release based on this Ipsos poll, and the survey results themselves, can be found at the CAPP website.
