Support for increasing Canada's oil and gas exports is at a numerical all-time high, survey shows

The research gauged the opinions among Canadians on oil and gas; more particularly how important oil and gas are to Canada’s current and future economy as well as expanding oil and gas exports for a more secure global energy supply and to help combat climate change worldwide. Questions were also asked about the future of Canada's electricity generation mix and their level of comfort with various electricity facilities in their communities. The research also gauged Canadians’ confidence in government decision-making for energy, their views on Canada’s most important energy needs and their level of support for using Artificial Intelligence in energy project decision-making.

1. Views on the importance of oil and gas to Canada’s economy increases compared to six months ago – A strong majority of Canadians say oil and gas is important to Canada’s current economy (87%) and future economy (71%). This is an increase when compared to six months ago (81% and 63%, respectively) and on par with the all-time highs observed in February 2025 (88% and 70%, respectively).

2. Agreement that Canada should expand its exports of oil and gas continues to grow – Three quarters of Canadians agree or somewhat agree (75%, previous numerical high of 72% in August 2025) that Canada should expand oil and gas exports to help the world have more secure and reliable energy supplies.

3. Views on the country’s efforts to build public confidence and a long-term vision for energy in Canada have improved – Although views lean more negatively than positively in terms of rating the job Canada is doing at building public confidence in developing a shared long-term vision for Canada’s energy future and energy decision-making (41% say poor or very poor for both), the proportion who say the country is doing a good or very good job has increased for both (21% and 17%, up from 10% and 7% in 2024, respectively).

4. Affordability of energy is most frequently ranked as the top priority for Canadians – When asked to rank various energy needs for Canadians, affordability was most frequently ranked first (38%), and reliability and lowering greenhouse gas emissions are each ranked first by one in four Canadians (26% each). These results are consistent with the past waves of research.

5. Electrification potential grows – Three in five Canadians are interested in transitioning more of their energy use to electricity and have either taken steps to do so (35%, up from 27% in 2025) or haven’t started yet (27%, steady compared to 28% in 2025). The proportion who aren’t interested at all has decreased (26%, down from 31% in 2025).

6. Canadians most comfortable with and see the biggest potential for hydroelectricity for electricity generation – In terms of Canada’s future electricity generation, Canadians believe hydroelectricity should represent the largest share of future electricity generation (average of 28%). Hydroelectricity is also the type of electricity generation they would most be comfortable with having in their community (39%).

7. Canadians are cautious about the use of AI in energy project decision making – Canadians are most comfortable with AI reviewing past projects and compiling key findings (54%) and automating tasks and improving productivity (51%). They are much less comfortable with AI being used to answer community members’ questions about a new energy project (23%) or to make recommendations to decision-makers about whether a project should be approved (22%).