‘We’re going to be every bit as active in this federal election’: Dias says unions undeterred by new pre-election ad spending limits
New limits on pre-election political advertising are unlikely to force a change of approach from Canada’s unions and other high-spending advertisers from the last election, say executives and spokespeople for some of those groups. “The short answer is ‘no.’ We’re going to be every bit as active in this federal election as we were in […]
Major Conservative ad buy an ‘opening salvo’ for 2019 aimed at introducing Scheer to suburban men, female voters, say experts
The Conservative Party’s reported $2-million national ad push is its “opening salvo” of the 2019 election, and pollsters and strategists say the two ads currently on airwaves are both aimed at introducing new leader Andrew Scheer and putting “pocketbook” issues in focus in the lead-up to the next campaign. “I would consider this the opening […]
Liberals turn sights on social media giants in bid to boost elections bill
The Liberal government wants to push major online platforms to expand their political advertising registries north of the border, as part of a package of more than 60 changes it’s proposing to its already-sweeping elections modernization bill. When MPs return from their ridings on Oct. 15, members of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) […]
Conservatives ‘keen’ to make 2019 election about the economy, say observers
As parties square their sights on the 2019 election, expect Conservatives to spotlight the economy and related issues, like NAFTA renegotiations and the federal carbon-pricing plan, and to do so with “sharper” rhetoric and “a little bit more feistiness,” say observers. “The last year of Andrew Scheer’s leadership the focus has really been on trying […]
The tyranny of compelled propaganda
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Thomas Jefferson once said, “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” And that leads me to think if Jefferson were alive today and living in Canada, he’d see a lot of sinful and tyrannical stuff, since Canadians are often compelled […]
‘Our party took a $20-million hit,’ Conservatives to claw back money from candidates post-election; MPs well on way to stocking 2019 coffers
The Conservative Party will begin clawing back money from its electoral district associations after the next election, to make up for money lost when the former Conservative government eliminated the per-vote subsidy. The Conservative Party will ask the EDAs to hand over half of the money they receive when Elections Canada reimburses candidates for 60 […]
Political advocacy via hashtag is only tweeting to the choir
OAKVILLE, ONT.—For political advocacy groups, such as organizations that rabble rouse on issues like taxes and the environment and various other causes, the ongoing social media revolution has brought with it both boon and potential peril. The boon part, of course, is pretty obvious. Thanks to social media, political advocacy groups can now reach vast […]
Brand control, ‘beefed-up’ war rooms more important in era of digital campaigns
Campaign war rooms are more important than ever, turning into “content shops” churning out material with the potential to go viral as the fight for attention turns away from conventional approaches to get the message out, say campaign veterans and experts. But even though incoming Progressive Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford shot to power earlier this […]
Liberals’ major new elections bill to undercut Conservatives’ spending advantage during campaigns
The government’s major new elections bill will scrap the rising cap on spending by political parties during long election campaigns, a move that could limit how the opposition Conservatives can capitalize on their long-held fundraising advantage in the 2019 election. Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act, will also establish a spending limit for at least […]
Facebook makes it easy to run illegal and ‘Astroturf’ ads, say Canadian digital political strategists
Anonymous and illegal political ad campaigns are probably already running in Canada, thanks in part to Facebook and other online advertising platforms that make it easy to skirt laws around political advertising, say political digital marketing specialists. “If you want to influence around the rules, it’s pretty straightforward to do so,” said Stephen Carter, a […]
