A little more than half of Canadians believe Kinder Morgan could have done a better job of earning public support for the Trans Mountain pipeline, a poll released Monday suggests.
Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians say the pipeline operator hadn’t properly handled publicity over the controversial project, according to data from Angus Reid Institute, which would twin an existing pipeline that extends from central Alberta to the west coast.
The project has long been the subject of public protests in B.C., as well as an escalating trade war and court action between B.C. and Alberta.
Kinder Morgan stopped all “non-essential” work on the pipeline earlier this month.
The opinion of pipeline supporters isn’t much different from that of the general population, the poll suggests.
Fifty-six per cent of supporters still thought Kinder Morgan had done a poor public relations job.
Among those opposed, 70 per cent thought the company hadn’t handled public outcry properly.
However, 60 per cent of Canadians said the protesters didn’t represent the mainstream’s views on the pipeline.
Crown counsel is currently considering criminal contempt charges against 167 anti-pipeline demonstrators for violating a court order not to go near the Trans Mountain worksite in Burnaby.
