Saskatchewan residents' support for nuclear power remains steady

Saskatchewan residents' support for nuclear power remains steady, despite recent protests and feedback opposing nuclear developments.

October 20th, 2009 (Saskatoon, SK). A new independent online poll conducted by Insightrix Research shows that public approval for development of a nuclear power plant within the province remains relatively consistent with support levels noted in February 2008. Specifically, 61.6% of Saskatchewan residents currently strongly support (27.4%) or somewhat support (34.2%) the development of a nuclear power plant within the province. In February 2008, 66.3% stated they supported such a development (28.5% strongly support, 37.8% somewhat support). However, more residents currently strongly oppose (17.3%) such a development when compared to the 2008 survey (12.1%). In total, 28.3% currently oppose nuclear power plant developments and 10.1% do not have an opinion on the matter.

The current study shows that men (73.8%) are more likely to support a nuclear power plant than are women (50.1%).

Further, respondents were asked whether they believe that the feedback the provincial government recently received from the public via public hearings and other avenues is representative of the average citizen. When asked to place themselves into one of two categories, 75.3% of respondents believe that the feedback represents only the opinions of those who are passionate about the topic. Conversely, 24.7% believe that the opinions of those who provided input to the provincial government is accurate of how the average citizen feels.

However, when presented with the actual statistic released by the provincial government – that 84% of the feedback received through the public consultation process is in opposition to nuclear power developments - 44.1% of respondents believe this number is an accurate assessment of actual opinions in the province. This is in sharp contrast to actual opposition levels of 28.3% as noted earlier in this press release.

Finally, 89.6% of respondents report they have either not thought a lot about the topic of developing a nuclear power plant in the province (28.5%) or have talked about the topic with others but have not done anything publicly (61.1%). Nearly one in ten (8.6%) have either provided feedback to an elected official or the provincial government (7.0%) or have attended rallies / protests (1.6%). Those who have been more active on the issue (written to an official or government or attended rallies or protests) are more likely to oppose a nuclear power plant in the province than are those who are less active on the issue (15.0% versus 6.7% respectively).

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