Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent across the globe, including in Canada. From August 16 to 18, 2024, we surveyed Canadians about their perceptions of climate change, its causes, and desired future actions to fight it.
Some of the key highlights of our survey about extreme weather events in Canada include…
- More than one-third of Canadians (35%) have been personally impacted by an extreme event. This proportion is higher among Quebecers (41%). There is a significant 12-point increase in the number of Canadians who have personally been impacted by an event compared to when the question was last asked in June 2023 (35% vs. 23% in 2023).
- Six out of ten Canadians (61%) think that extreme weather events will occur more often in the future.
- Seven out of ten Canadians (70%) are concerned that they will experience increasingly hot summers and more heat waves in the future. This proportion is higher among Quebecers (76%). There is a 5-point increase in the number of Canadians concerned by increasingly hot summers compared to when the question was last asked in July 2023 (70% vs. 65% in 2023).
- Three out of five Canadians (63%) are worried about the changes in the climate in Canada, while 19% are not worried, and 10% feel that there have been no changes.
- Nearly half of Canadians (48%) think there is still time to reverse the consequences of climate change, while more than one-third (38%) think it is too late to reverse the consequences. More than one Canadian out of ten (13%) do not believe in climate change. This proportion is significantly higher among Canadians living in rural areas (22%).
- Half of Canadians (48%) support using the carbon tax revenue to better prepare Canada for the effects of climate change instead of rebating the tax to consumers, while one-third (34%) are opposed, and 18% don’t know.
Methodology
This web survey was conducted from August 16 to August 18, 2024, with 1,526 Canadians aged 18 or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey.
For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than ±2.500%, (19 times out of 20) for the Canadian sample.
