July 29, 2026 – Renewed concern about a changing climate is pushing environmental issues back onto Canadians' political radar and creating thorny challenges for Prime Minister Mark Carney and the governing Liberals.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds that, as wildfires burn across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, the proportion of Canadians choosing climate change as a top concern has risen from 14 to 21 percentage points – a fifty per cent increase – in four months.
The political consequences of this are evident. While the Liberals continue to lead the Conservatives in federal vote intention, their advantage has narrowed to four points, as one-in-six of those who voted Liberal in 2025 now say they would support the NDP (15%). Among these Liberal-to-NDP switchers, climate change ranks as a top concern for half – twice the number among those who remain with Carney's party (50% to 27%, respectively).