New Ontario polls finds majority think affordability more important than climate action [Video]

A majority of Ontarians rank the cost of living as a more pressing concern higher than protecting the environment, according to a new poll. It also suggests that a plurality of residents are willing to dump the Trudeau government’s carbon emission pricing regime even if it means giving up the carbon rebate.

The poll comes amid renewed calls for an emergency televised meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country’s premiers over an annual increase to the federal carbon price.

On April 1, it rose from $65 per tonne to $80 per tonne — an increase of just over three cents per litre of gas — triggering a wave of criticism from political opponents, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

A poll conducted by Liaison Strategies for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada found 49 per cent of those asked would abolish the carbon price immediately, while …