Public polling conducted by the Nova Scotia government and obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act shows that Nova Scotians may support the idea of road tolls but they don’t want to pay a heavy toll.

According to research conducted by Corporate Research Associates (CRA) in May 2016 and paid for by the Department of Transportation, 58% of Nova Scotians support using tolls to “advance the twinning of Nova Scotia highways”, while 40% oppose it.

But, when asked how much of a toll they are willing to pay on a 50 kilometer “stretch” the average amount was just $1.76. A recent report from CBCL done for the Department for Transportation says that a toll would cost much more than that. The CBCL report assumes a toll would range between $0.06 and $0.10 per km meaning a 50km toll would cost a driver a maximum of $5.00 to a minimum of $3.00 or almost double to three times as much as people are willing to pay. 

"You can't have high some of the highest income taxes, sales taxes and gas taxes in Canada have then try to charge high road tolls, Nova Scotians are telling their government they can't afford it anymore," said Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director with the CTF. 

Polling also shows Nova Scotians believe highways are safe and they believe highway maintenance is more important than extra twinning.

The polls cost the Department of Transportation $13,500 over the past two years. The CTF believes this kind of polling should not be paid for by taxpayers.

You can find the polling reports here for May 2016 as well as March 2015 and March 2016. A copy of the decision letter can be found HERE.