In September of 2023, headlines across Canada proclaimed that "7 out of 10 Canadians are worried about climate change" or "72% of Canadians are worried about climate change" or that they "link it to extreme weather." These headlines originated with an opinion poll done by Leger and The Canadian Press. But a closer look at the survey results shows that only 7% of the 1526 people surveyed expressed that climate change was a top priority. Likewise, the survey is flawed in that it conflates climate change, extreme weather events and wildfires in the questions, but not even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that wildfires or extreme weather events are caused by human influence on climate. Therefore the poll and the published stories of the results are misleading the public and policy makers. There are many harms that flow from this unethical and irresponsible reporting - one of the most important being that precious public funds are diverted from addressing real public needs - like funding for forest management and wildfire support, to green crony projects like EV battery plants and wind farms. Likewise, the public is given inaccurate, fearful messages and led to believe that changing their behaviour will stop wildfires or extreme weather events. Even if Canada was completely wiped off the map, it would make no different to climate change. Enjoy our explainer video on the Leger/Canadian Press poll and subsequent coverage. Learn more about Friends of Science on our website - join us! Providing Insight into Climate Change | Friends of Science https://friendsofscience.org
