Yellowknife, N.W.T. - A large majority of Canadians would like to see more education about the Arctic in schools around the country, according to a new poll.

The survey, commissioned by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, found that 94 per cent of respondents want students to learn more about the role the North plays in our society, as well as Northern science.

The centre's executive director, Mike Goodyear, said he's very encouraged with such a large number.

"There is a great deal of pressure in the schools to cover a lot of material and there is so much out there,” he said. “Parents, some of the respondents obviously would be parents, for them to sort of feel that it was important enough to compete with all the other things that are in the curriculum, I though that was rather telling."

The survey found that 57 per cent of respondents feel the North should be opened up to exploration of natural resources and over 70 per cent of respondents want to see traditional hunting grounds preserved.

Sixty-five per cent of people also think the concerns of environmentalists should impede the progress of developers in the North.

The results of the survey were published at the International Polar Year conference in Montreal.

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