Poll reveals a shift in attitudes that could prove fatal to Dion's proposed carbon tax

globeandmail.com: Energy crisis supplants environment as top concern

OTTAWA -- Anger at soaring gas prices has supplanted fear about global warming as the No. 1 issue Canadians say is facing their country.

As the cost of filling the tank hits uncharted heights - and is predicted to go even higher - a wide-ranging survey conducted by the Strategic Counsel for The Globe and Mail and CTV suggests energy prices are on par with the sagging economy when it comes to Canadians' worries.

The environment, last year's top issue, has been pushed to No. 3, with just 16 per cent of Canadians surveyed saying they now consider it their primary concern.

This shift could make it more difficult for Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion to sell the carbon-tax plan he unveiled last week, a complex scheme to cut greenhouse-gas emissions that will be the cornerstone of his party's platform in the next election.