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Energy costs top concern for first time in 20 years. Fuel costs were top of mind for B.C. residents in June, beating out health care and the economy for the first time in almost 20 years.
When asked, "What is the most important issue facing British Columbia today?" - a question the Mustel Group has been asking in bi-monthly polls since the early 1990s - 17 per cent of respondents identified fuel costs.
Health, the number one concern for all of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, dropped to second with 13 per cent.
"It's the first time fuel came up as number one," Evi Mustel said yesterday. "If we look back to February 2007, we see fuel didn't even register as an area of concern."
The pollster said the rapid rise in gas prices, coupled with the provincial carbon tax which will add 2.3 cents a litre to the cost of gasoline starting on Canada Day, has brought people to their "tipping point."
The results of the poll of 750 B.C. residents between June 9 and 19 were consistent across all income and age groups, with Metro Vancouver residents as concerned as those living in rural areas.
The poll also showed B.C. Liberals have maintained a 10 point lead over the NDP. If an election were held tomorrow, the Liberals would have the support of 47 per cent of decided voters and the NDP 37 per cent, rebounding from 31 per cent in the Mustel Group's last measure.
As oil hit a record $140 U.S. a barrel yesterday, experts predicted an exodus of vehicles from U.S. highways, with a less dramatic drop in Canada.
A CIBC World Markets report said gas prices in the U.S. will likely hit $7 a gallon - about $1.86 a litre - within in two summers. The predicted 70-per-cent increase over today's prices will push about 10 million vehicles off U.S. roads by 2012.
According to the web site BCGasPrices.com, the average gas price in Canada yesterday was 138.1, up from 108.5 last year at this time. The average price in B.C. was 140, up from 112.2.
Cheap gas could be found at the Abbotsford Costco for 134.9, while the web site showed Langley Shell with B.C.'s top price of 148.
BCAA spokesperson Jennifer Timm said gas prices aren't expected to impact summer travel plans too much, but some "trimming" is inevitable.
"We've found people really value their holiday time," she said. "They might trim expenses in other place in order to get away this summer."
In Victoria yesterday, Premier Gordon Campbell said the government's plan to green-up the B.C. will bring it 73 per cent closer to its goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 33 per cent by 2020.
The Climate Action Plan relies, in part, on residents changing their habits and joining programs that provide incentives for retrofitting their homes to save energy.
By Glenda Luymes, The Province
Published: Friday, June 27, 2008
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