Citizen Perspectives on Energy Issues in Canada

Citizen Perspectives on Energy Issues_National Survey2015_Page_001This study of Canadian perspectives on energy issues was conducted by university researchers and supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Energy Exchange. It suggests that motivating Canadians to participate in discussions and decisions about social and personal energy choices is linked to: 

  • values
  • attitudes (particularly beliefs and knowledge) toward energy
  • trust in government and institutional decision-makers
  • gender
  • education levels

Taken together, these factors can provide a multi-layered framework from which to design, test, execute and monitor energy-focused initiatives.

Developed by a team of researchers from the University of Alberta, the University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University and Cornell University, the Citizen Perspectives on Energy Issues national online survey was completed by 3,000 people across Canada. The sample was a demographically representative sample of the Canadian population – this means it reflected our population in terms of age, gender, region, language, income and other key indicators.