​Independent polling shows strong community support for potential expansion at Bruce Power

Independent polling shows that community support is strong for Bruce Power’s plan to explore potential expansion of the Bruce site, with 80 per cent of residents saying they support the proposal to advance the required long-term planning and consultation work.

Among residents, support for upgrading and refurbishing existing nuclear power plants in order to help meet Ontario's future electricity demand, continues to be at an historic high, at 86 per cent. More than half (53 per cent) of residents say they ‘strongly support’ upgrade and refurbishment.

About nine-in-10 residents (93 per cent) agree that expanding the Bruce Power facility would create jobs in the community, and 86 per cent believe the expansion will be good for the community.

During recent independent telephone polling conducted across the region, Ipsos found that almost all residents (93 per cent), who are familiar with Bruce Power, regard it as a good community citizen, while 92 per cent agree the company is involved with the community in a positive way, and 93 per cent have confidence that the Bruce facility operates safely.

“Understanding the opinions and priorities of our community is essential to make sure we’re doing the right things and sharing the right information,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s chief operating officer and executive vice-president.

“Knowing that our community has confidence in our ability to operate the site safely and protect the environment, tells us that we’re on the right track and earning the community support that is so important to Bruce Power. However, this support is something we never take for granted and we work as hard as we can every day to earn people’s confidence.”

Overall support for Bruce Power remains strong, with 86 per cent of residents in the Clean Energy Frontier region, who are familiar with Bruce Power, having a positive impression. Familiarity with Bruce Power has increased since last year to 85 per cent from 85 per cent, with residents who say they are ‘very familiar,’ increasing the most.