2022 Public Opinion Poll: Canadians’ Attitudes Towards Marine Shipping

In this Report, You'll Learn About

  • What Canadians think about marine shipping activities in Canada
  • The influence issues such as inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and COVID-19 have had on the awareness and perceptions of marine shipping
  • Canadians’ top concerns when it comes to marine shipping
  • How confident Canadians are in marine shipping, its safety, and the way it is regulated

Read or Download the Report

24-page PDF

Project Summary

Clear Seas, in partnership with the Angus Reid Institute, conducted its fourth biennial study in its public opinion series measuring the perceptions of Canadians towards the marine shipping industry. This latest edition of the nationwide poll builds on the benchmark studies conducted in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

In 2022, the poll took into consideration the supply chain crunch created by global events such as the rising cost of living, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact it might have had on Canadians’ overall awareness and perceptions of marine shipping and the role it plays in the supply network. The Shipping Confidence Index was measured for a second time to highlight how the different viewpoints towards shipping evolved in recent years.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaway

Amid recent world events that have exacerbated the fragility of the global supply chain, a growing number of Canadians are aware of the central role marine shipping plays in their daily lives and their capacity to access goods, from new cars to medicine. Furthermore, although most Canadians believe marine shipping is a safe mode of transportation, significant concerns about the risk of water pollution – by oil or waste – remain in the public’s consciousness.

Overview of Findings

A vast majority of Canadians have a favourable perception of the marine shipping industry; 91% of them believe marine shipping to be safe. 

A majority (59%) of Canadians think that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the marine industry is as or more important than other industries. 

Despite the overall rise in the cost of living, nearly two-thirds (62%) of Canadians say they would pay more for goods from overseas to reduce or offset emissions. 

Majorities believe that provincial governments, federal departments managing the industry, and the federal government more generally could do more in the field of shipping safety. That sentiment is particularly strong in British Columbia and Quebec. 

Download Figures from the Report

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The reports’ detailed tables are available here.

Research Team

This nation-wide public opinion poll was conducted by a research team at the Angus Reid Institute (ARI), in partnership with Clear Seas, and paid for jointly by ARI and Clear Seas.

The Angus Reid Institute is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation. It was founded in 2014 to help advance education by commissioning, conducting, and disseminating accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs, and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada.

Published December 12, 2022

Last modified on January 30, 2023

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