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More than half of British Columbians polled on behalf of an association representing Canada’s oil and gas industry support Ottawa’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Fifty-four per cent of British Columbians polled said they support the federal government’s green-lighting of the Burnaby Mountain pipeline expansion, while 26 per cent opposed the project. The survey, which was conducted by Ipsos Canada for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, notes B.C.’s level of support for the Trans Mountain project is above the national average, which was recorded at 37 per cent.

Some 53 per cent of B.C. respondents also agreed with Ottawa’s thumbs up for the Line 3 replacement project, 38 per cent agreed with the rejection of the Northern Gateway Project, and 43 per cent supported the moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic off B.C.’s north coast.

On Nov. 29, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced approval had been granted to the $6.8-billion Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion project, which will triple its Edmonton-to-Burnaby capacity to 895,000 barrels a day. Construction is expected to begin in September 2017, if the company can settle court challenges and threatened civil disobedience.

That same day, Trudeau also nixed Enbridge’s $7.9-billion plan for the Northern Gateway pipeline, which had hoped to transport 525,000 barrels a day from near Edmonton, to Kitimat.

The Ipsos Canada poll surveyed 1,000 Canadians who were a part of Ipsos’ online panel. The poll was conducted between Dec. 5 and 8, using weighting to balance demographics. The sampling is considered accurate plus or minus 3.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Story: Calgary Herald