25% of Cdns think global warming will kill planet: poll

16 April 2006cnews

About one-quarter of Canadians believe global warming will lead to the destruction of the planet, a new opinion poll suggests.

The Leger Marketing survey found that 62 per cent of respondents believed global warming can be curbed, while 23 per cent said it will trigger a disaster that will destroy Earth.

Fifteen per cent refused to answer or said they didn't know.

Thirty-one per cent of Quebecers believed in the end-of-the-world scenario, while other regional breakdowns along the same lines were: British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces, 22 per cent; Ontario, 21 per cent; and Alberta, 16 per cent.

Asked whether they were afraid of global warming, 45 per cent of respondents replied No, while 50 per cent said Yes.

The fear quotient ranged from 54 per cent in Quebec to 37 per cent in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The poll of 1,500 Canadians was conducted March 21-26 and is considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The margins of error for the regional breakdowns are higher.