An NDP-commissioned poll shows 64 per cent of British Columbians oppose the province's new carbon tax.

But the results of the Angus Reid Strategies survey indicate Metro Vancouver residents aren't as dead-set against the new policy as the rest of the province.

Within Metro Vancouver, 59 per cent of those surveyed either strongly or moderately oppose the carbon tax, while 37 per cent support it. Elsewhere in the province, support ranges from 32 per cent on Vancouver Island to just 18 per cent in the north and Interior.

Two-thirds of Metro Vancouverites polled said they don't trust the provincial government claims the carbon tax will be revenue neutral. Three-quarters said the $100 climate action dividend won't offset the tax for most B.C. residents.

NDP leader Carole James said the poll confirms her party's stand against the new tax, which is backed by a coalition of environmental groups and economists.

“Gordon Campbell needs to listen to the public, scrap the gas tax and bring forward climate change solutions that work," James said, arguing big polluters don't have to pay for some of their emissions.

The online poll of 800 B.C. residents was carried out July 11-13 and is considered accurate within 3.5 points 19 times out of 20.

The NDP's Axe the Tax campaign has garnered thousands of signatures around the province opposing the new tax that took effect July 1.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen maintains the tax will send a signal that fuel costs will continue to go up and encourage people and businesses to find ways to conserve.

He said the government is legally required to return all of the carbon tax through offsetting tax cuts.

The extra 2.34 cents per litre on gasoline initially pushed pump prices above $1.50 per litre. But Metro Vancouver prices have since dropped to an average of $1.39 per litre, according to the latest weekly survey released Tuesday by MJ Ervin and Associates.  Source

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