A new regional poll shows that a growing majority of participants share common beliefs about the value of protecting the Great Lakes. They also recognize the essential role of ecosystem health and water quality in supporting the region’s economy and quality of life. This is the fourth regional poll conducted for the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board.
The Great Lakes Regional Poll is the only international public opinion poll on Great Lakes water quality topics.
The board’s telephone poll is a random, representative sample of more than 4,500 Canadians and Americans. More than 10 percent of respondents identify as Indigenous with First Nations, Métis or Tribal affiliations. The board concurrently conducted a nonrandom online version of the poll. The online poll serves as an anecdotal point of comparison only; the phone poll results are generalizable to the broader Great Lakes region population and are the results the board cites.
Previous public opinion polls were conducted for the board in 2015, 2018 and 2021.
“The results of our past three polls show people share commonly held values and beliefs about the value of Great Lakes ecosystem health and water quality,” said Jon Allan, board US co-chair and senior adviser at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.
“We are not surprised that our 2024 poll results show those large majorities are going up. Support for Great Lakes protection was high in 2015 and is even higher 10 years later. And the Great Lakes truly unite us across our differences: There are surprisingly few areas where opinions diverge depending on age, income, and political or ethnic identity.”
All four of the board’s polls show consistent, overwhelming majority support for protecting the Great Lakes. More than nine in 10 people polled believe it is important to protect the Great Lakes, increasing steadily over time since 2015.
There is nearly unanimous (96 percent) support for the importance of government investment in Great Lakes protections. Eight in 10 agree the region’s economy will suffer if the Great Lakes are not healthy.
Most responses, consistently increasing since 2015, reflect agreement with value statements that Great Lakes water quality should be protected for the benefit of fish and wildlife, at 85 percent in 2024, a 9 percent increase since 2015.
Similar trends are reflected in high levels of agreement with statements that the Great lakes water quality should be protected for the benefit of people living in the basin (78 percent in 2024, a 10 percent increase since 2015), and that actions should be taken now to ensure the health of the lakes for future generations (81 percent in 2024, an 8 percent increase since 2015).
More than nine in 10 agree that interaction with the Great Lakes provides benefits to happiness (95 percent), life satisfaction (94 percent), mental health (93 percent) and overall well-being (95 percent).
Opinions on Great Lakes water quality and health overall are mixed. Residents in Lake Superior and Lake Huron watersheds view their lakes as healthy and safe; Lake Erie watershed residents viewed that lake as poor and deteriorating; views of water quality status and trend of Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario were variable.
Respondents belonging to First Nations, Métis or Tribal communities were significantly less likely to agree with statements related to the cleanliness, trustworthiness and affordability of their drinking water.
These respondents had less confidence in their nearest Great Lake as a safe source for drinking water or for eating fish, and were concerned about species of cultural importance being threatened by poor Great Lakes water quality.
Invasive species, pollution and algae blooms are viewed as the most significant challenges that pose negative impacts to Great Lakes health.
Climate change is widely viewed as a source of increasing pressure on the Great Lakes (90 percent) with concerns about climate impacts on Great lakes water quality (83 percent), water quantity (77 percent) and community well-being (81 percent).
Results reveal that people believe state and provincial (75 percent) and federal (73 percent) governments should be responsible for protecting the lakes, more so than city/local governments (62 percent), Indigenous governments (9 percent), or “everyone” (24 percent).
Yet at the same time, strong views about the importance of the role of the individual (84 percent) continue to increase over time (a 6 percent increase since 2015).
“There are no wrong answers in an opinion poll,” said Chris McLaughlin, board Canadian co-chair and executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council.
“Polls reflect a snapshot of public opinions which may or may not be informed about the science behind the issues. Polls are valuable to inform decision makers about the attitudes and beliefs of Great Lakes communities when considering policies and solutions.”
In the interest of sharing poll findings broadly, the board developed key poll results into graphics and animations which are available in a media toolkit that provides suggested text for social media posts to accompany the graphics, including the hashtag #GreatLakesH2OpinionPoll.
“We encourage others to share the results widely,” Allan said. “We would love to see these findings help to further spread the message that no matter who you are or what you believe, we all agree on the importance of protecting the Great Lakes.”
Allison Voglesong Zejnati is public affairs specialist at the IJC’s Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, Ontario.
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