One-third of Canadians now say it's a bad time to raise the carbon price, with the majority saying they believe that raising gasoline prices is an ineffective approach to reducing fuel emissions.

This comes according to a survey conducted by Nanos Research on behalf of CTV News aimed at better understanding Canadian perceptions towards combating climate change through fuel price increases. The survey included 1,081 Canadians between July 30 and August 2, and the results were weighted using the latest census data, adjusted for age and gender, with the sample of respondents geographically divided.

From coast to coast, 21 percent of survey participants said now is a "bad time" to raise the carbon tax, while 46 percent said it is a "very bad time."

The sentiment against raising the carbon tax was highest in the Prairies, where 79 percent of survey participants agreed that the timing of the carbon price increase is inappropriate.

Similarly, in the Atlantic region, 73 percent of respondents said the timing is "bad" or "very bad." In Quebec, 53 percent of respondents also said the timing is wrong.

In 2019, the national carbon price for the federal government started at $20 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. This price has risen to $65 per ton as of April 1, 2023, and will increase by $15 annually until it reaches $170 per ton.

The Nanos survey also found that a growing percentage of Canadians believe that the carbon tax is generally an ineffective strategy to reduce fuel consumption.

Compared to 2019 (36 percent), more Canadians now believe that high gasoline prices from the carbon tax are not an effective way to reduce fuel consumption (45 percent).

In 2019, Nanos found that 16 percent of Canadians believed that carbon taxes were effective, and 26 percent believed they were somewhat effective.

Today, only 9 percent say carbon taxes are an effective strategy, while 23 percent say they are somewhat effective.

The survey also found that more than half of Canadians (53 percent) said that the federal carbon pricing program is ineffective in combating climate change.

In Ontario, 33.1 percent of respondents said the tax is "effective" or "somewhat effective." Similarly, 33.3 percent from British Columbia said that the taxes could be helpful in encouraging people to use less fuel.