Victoria, B.C. – Just days before the federal election, new polling results indicate 78.9 per cent of British Columbians support a ban on oil tanker traffic in B.C.’s inside coastal waters.

Furthermore, 38 per cent of those surveyed indicated that the oil tanker issue will influence how they vote in the current federal election.

“This is a clear indication that oil tankers will be a defining election issue on Monday,” said Eric Swanson, No Tankers director for the Dogwood Initiative. “We’ve been talking to thousands of British Columbians and their voice is clear: this is our coast and our decision.”

The poll, conducted by Strategic Communications and commissioned by Dogwood Initiative, West Coast Environmental Law Association and Living Oceans Society, surveyed 830 adult British Columbians between April 14 and April 18.

The poll also broke results down by voting intention, indicating 65 per cent of Conservative voters support a ban on oil tanker traffic, along with 83 per cent of Liberal voters and 88 per cent of NDP voters.

Today the federal Liberals released their B.C. platform, confirming their commitment to a legislated ban on all oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast. The NDP and Green party have also made clear commitments to ban oil tankers off B.C.’s north coast. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have stated clearly they will not ban oil tankers.

Methodology: These data are based on a random sample of 830 adult British Columbians who are members of an established online research panel.  Data were weighted by gender, age and educational achievement to ensure that the final sample is representative of the actual population of B.C. A probabilistic sample of this size would yield a margin of error of 3.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.