Public concerns about climate up 15-points since October 2024
Between June 26 and July 2, 2025 (before the Texas floods), Abacus Data surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults to better understand perceptions of climate change. This article looks at how recent extreme weather is raising public concern, even as most Canadians remain focused on everyday issues like affordability and the economy. We explore the public’s call for balance between climate action and economic stability, and what these shifting views could mean for the Liberal government’s approach going forward.
A Major Concern Overshadowed by Immediate Issues
For much of the past year, the top issues facing Canadians have remained steady: the cost of living, healthcare, housing, and – more recently – Donald Trump and his administration. In this context, climate change has slipped down the list of urgent public issues, with only 15% now ranking it among their top three concerns. While still important, climate change is being overshadowed by more immediate, day-to-day worries. Political lines further shape this outlook, with 18% of Liberal voters and 26% of NDP supporters naming it as a top issue, compared to just 4% of Conservative supporters.
Yet despite Canadians’ day-to-day focus on other issues, concern about the long-term impact of climate change remains high, with 77% of Canadians noting that thy are worried about climate change’s future effects. This marks a significant 15-point jump in concern since October 2024, suggesting that, while Canadians may not be prioritizing climate action right now, they are far from complacent. Concern is especially strong among Liberal (92%) and NDP (93%) supporters, but even among Conservative voters, a majority (57%) express worry about the future.
Extreme Weather Events Bring Climate Impacts Closer to Home
Much of this growing concern can be traced to the direct experience of extreme weather. Today, 65% of Canadians believe that extreme weather events are becoming at least moderately more frequent or severe in their area, with just 9% believing otherwise. This view is higher among NDP (81%) and Liberal (72%) supporters, but is also shared by more than half (53%) of Conservative supporters.
When asked about changes they’ve noticed in their own communities over the past 5 to 10 years, Canadians point to a range of disruptions: more wildfires or wildfire risk (50%), unusual temperature fluctuations (46%), more frequent heatwaves (45%), increased rainfall or flooding (32%), and stronger or more severe storms (29%). Only 13% say they haven’t witnessed any significant changes.
Reflecting these lived experiences, 67% of Canadians are concerned about the impact of extreme weather events in their area over the next five years. This shows that concern about climate change isn’t just abstract – it’s becoming personal for many, as more Canadians feel the effects firsthand in their own communities.
Canadians Want Balance, Not Sacrifice
When considering how the government should address climate change, a majority (58%) believe the federal government should take a balanced approach, tackling both economic growth and climate action at the same time. Only one in four (23%) feel economic growth should be prioritized, even if it means delaying climate action. This indicates that most Canadians do not see this as an either-or choice – they expect progress on both fronts, rather than sacrificing one for the other. Even with economic pressures top of mind, relatively few are willing to see climate action set aside.
Again, there are notable political differences. Support for balancing the economy and climate is strongest among Liberal (70%) and NDP (64%) supporters, but nearly half of Conservative supporters (47%) also favour this approach. For the Liberal government, this emphasis on balance presents both an opportunity and a challenge: pursuing policies that demonstrate progress on both economic and environmental goals could help maintain and broaden support, but any perceived failure to deliver on either front risks alienating their core base as well as persuadable voters looking for a middle path.
Mixed Reviews on Government Action
Despite the strong public desire for meaningful climate action, many Canadians are dissatisfied with the Liberal government’s performance on this front. Only 20% feel the Liberal government is effectively addressing climate change, while a larger share (30%) believe it is falling short. Even among committed Liberal supporters, fewer than three in ten (27%) believe the government is delivering real progress on the issue. For the government, the gap between expectations and perceived results is a clear warning sign that more visible leadership and tangible progress are needed to regain public confidence, especially if the issue becomes more salient.
Canadians’ Priorities for Climate Policy
Asked what the federal government should focus on over the next few years, Canadians point to increased investment in renewable energy and clean technology (42%), improved infrastructure to withstand extreme weather (31%), and more collaboration with provinces and territories on climate goals (29%). Many also support targeted incentives: 27% want financial support for industries transitioning to sustainable practices, 23% would like to see more support for smart energy homes, and 13% want further incentives to adopt electric vehicles. These results make it clear that Canadians want to see practical, forward-looking policies that both strengthen the economy and help communities adapt to a changing climate.
THE UPSHOT
The spike in climate concern this wave is unmistakable. A growing share of Canadians now place climate change among their foremost worries, driven by a summer of grim visuals: lethal flash-flooding in Texas that has already left well over a hundred people dead and billions in damage (occurred after this survey was fielded) and a wildfire season on track to become Canada’s second-worst on record. These extreme weather events feed the broader precarity mindset – the sense that day-to-day life is perched on a knife-edge where extreme weather can upend routines, finances, personal safety, and displace entire communities without warning.
Rising alarm, however, does not automatically make climate change a ballot-box litmus test. Voters tend to weigh multiple anxieties, and pocketbook pressures still dominate. What our data do suggest is that climate may be emerging as a required discussion topic in national political conversations: leaders who cannot articulate how they will protect households from fires, floods, and spiralling insurance costs risk sounding out of touch. In other words, while climate may not yet decide elections on its own, it is fast becoming a credibility filter through which broader economic and leadership claims are judged.
Avoiding public numbness remains a strategic imperative. If heat domes, smoke advisories, and flood alerts become annual background noise, psychological calluses could form even as objective danger grows. The antidote is to keep the narrative personal and local – linking carbon policy to the cost of cooling an apartment during a week-long heat emergency or the premium hike after a basement flood. Framing climate risk in these everyday terms resonates with the cost-of-living lens that defines the precarity mindset and prevents the issue from slipping into abstraction fatigue.
Politically, a notable vacuum persists. Neither the Carney Liberals nor the Poilievre Conservatives have secured clear ownership of the climate file; both are still perceived as juggling emissions goals with affordability promises. With the NDP entering a leadership race and the Greens struggling for relevance, there is genuine space for a third-voice narrative that elevates climate from a balancing act to a defining priority. A credible contender who offers ambitious but economically grounded solutions – industrial-policy carrots over consumer-facing sticks – could capture the high-concern segment now looking for a champion.
Over the next year, our tracking will watch three signposts:
- Whether climate climbs into the top-two unprompted national issues;
- Whether leader scores on “has a credible plan to fight climate change” start to shift favourability and vote pools; and,
- Whether partisan gaps in perceived climate risk widen, signalling sharper political sorting.
For now, extreme weather keeps climate firmly in the foreground of public dialogue, reinforcing the precarity mindset and creating an opening for bolder political entrepreneurship. Whether that translates into decisive ballot behaviour remains uncertain, but its role as an important driver in the conversation could be changing.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted with 1,500 Canadian adults from June 26 to July 2, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.53%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region.
This survey was paid for by Abacus Data.
Abacus Data follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
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