Energy pragmatism is winning over Canadians from across the country

Canadians are demanding practical, balanced solutions that reflect real-world needs

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Canadians are rethinking their views on pipelines—and the polling numbers are proving it.

A new energy realism is taking hold across the country, including in provinces like Quebec where resistance to oil and gas projects was once near-automatic. Today, more Canadians see pipelines not as symbols of ideology, but as tools of energy security and economic stability.

A 2025 Environics Research poll found that 73 per cent of Canadians support building new pipelines to the east and west coasts. That includes 59 per cent of Quebecers who back a West Coast line and 55 per cent who also support reviving an East Coast project. A separate SOM–La Presse poll found 59 per cent of Quebecers also support reviving Energy East and 61 per cent back the GNL Québec project.

Other surveys—including recent Nanos polling—show similar trends. Support for new energy corridors is rising even among younger Canadians and other groups that have historically been more skeptical.

That growing support reflects a broader shift in understanding: Canadians are becoming more energy literate—thinking more critically about how energy systems work and how different sources fit together. They increasingly understand that fossil fuels, renewables, transmission corridors, storage and technology are all part of a functioning energy economy. There’s no singular “right answer.” The real question is how to make these systems work together.

Canadians appear to be embracing a “dual-energy” future. Half say they want oil sands development and renewable energy investment to proceed in tandem. Just 13 per cent support fossil fuels only, while about one in four want to prioritize renewables. Even in Alberta, a slight majority supports the dual-energy approach. In Quebec, majorities lean clean, but interest in blended and pipeline strategies is rising.

Alongside this support for blended solutions, Canadians are increasingly connecting the dots between red tape and energy security. Most back efforts to streamline the approvals process for new natural resource projects. Sixty-five per cent support government plans to cut red tape, and more than half believe it can be done without compromising environmental safeguards.

The federal government’s July 2025 Red Tape Review and regulatory modernization plan was mandated in part by this growing public demand for economic efficiency. These findings match broader calls for action to secure Canada’s economic future, especially in light of trade tensions and tariff threats.

Within that broader economic concern lies a surprising shift in public opinion: support for the oil sands sector has rebounded. Public approval now stands at 62 per cent—matching a previous high from 2012—after hovering around 50 per cent for years. That resurgence is likely tied to the more pragmatic outlook. Canadians increasingly recognize the oil sands’ role in job creation and national prosperity.

Still, the public hasn’t dropped its environmental guard. Despite rising support for oil and gas infrastructure, 78 per cent of Canadians remain concerned about ecological harm caused by the energy industry. At the same time, investment in clean technology is no longer seen as a threat to economic growth. In fact, 81 per cent now support increased funding in clean energy—including in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Environics vice-president Sarah Roberton put it plainly: “Canadians appear to be prioritizing positive economic news following a decade of slow growth and are currently on board with using all of the country’s resources to break the log jam and generate economic activity.”

In other words, Canadians are paying attention. Here’s the message for provincial and federal governments: now is the time to double down on energy policies that reflect the public’s growing literacy—programs that integrate multiple sources, cut through regulatory clutter and support realistic, future-facing infrastructure.

Bill Whitelaw is a director and advisor to many industry boards, including the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy, which he chairs. He speaks and comments frequently on the subjects of social licence, innovation and technology, and energy supply networks.