Majority of Canadians want feds to do more to support cleantech industry
by Cleantech Canada Staff
Four out of five Canadians want to see government embrace growing sector
TORONTO—Canadians are not satisfied with the amount of support the federal government is providing the clean technology industry. According to a recent Research House poll, 80 per cent of Canadians want to see the feds doing more to support the growing sector.
“This is a clear signal for the next government that Canadians – across the nation – embrace clean technologies and that they want immediate action,” Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers’ national director, said. “And given that we’ve lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs this past decade, Canada needs a forward looking jobs and industrial strategy.”
The poll, commissioned by Blue Green Canada, an advocacy alliance with roots in labour and environmental groups, showed 63 per cent of Canadians want the country’s economy to become less dependent on the oil and gas industry. One way to achieve this diversification is for the government to support cleantech with funding and incentives.
“Canadians across the country have said they want new jobs through investment in clean technology and they want to move past our historic reliance on oil and gas,” Charley Beresford, chair of Blue Green Canada, said.
The organization said Canada’s next government can act to diversify the economy, reduce the country’s reliance on oil and gas exports and meet the climate change challenge head-on by investing in the development and manufacturing of innovative clean technologies.
