Meta received approximately two million dollars in compensation to endorse Mark Carney
In the lead-up to the election, the Liberal Party, under Mark Carney's leadership, spent a significant sum on digital advertising. According to reports, nearly $1.9 million was spent on Meta (Facebook) ads. This investment has sparked criticism, raising concerns about digital sovereignty and campaign ethics in Canada's increasingly digital political landscape.
The large expenditure on Meta ads highlights potential vulnerabilities in Canada’s digital sovereignty. The heavy reliance on a U.S.-based platform for political messaging questions data control, privacy, and the potential for foreign companies to exert undue influence over Canadian political processes.
Ethical concerns include transparency about ad targeting, data collection practices, and the potential for misinformation or algorithmic bias impacting voter perceptions. Critics have also questioned whether the digital ad spending aligns with Canadian values around political campaigning and data protection.
Alain Saulnier, a former director of French information services at Radio-Canada, has expressed concerns about the continued use of Meta's services by Canadian political parties. Saulnier doubts that Mark Carney shares Justin Trudeau's commitment to regulate web giants.
The Liberal Party's campaign reached people both in their communities and on digital platforms. However, the prime minister's office did not explain this choice and referred questions to the party. A French message from Mark Carney was used in a recent advertisement that leads to a form to collect personal data for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney personally holds shares in Meta Platforms and hundreds of other large companies. The advertising primarily promotes publications on the Facebook page titled MarkJCarney2025.
The Liberal electoral platform of 2025 promised to equip Canada with "digital tools" to address various societal issues. However, the abandonment of the digital services tax, which would have been applied to all Meta advertising purchases, as well as on digital purchases from Amazon, Google, Uber, or Airbnb, has raised eyebrows.
The White House celebrated the abandonment of the tax, stating that the Carney government had "given in" to its demands. On the other hand, the Liberal Party of Canada assured strict adherence to the law.
Meanwhile, Beijing claims Canadian canola producers are dumping, resulting in temporary 75.8% tariffs on Canadian canola. In a positive note, fifty farms are participating in the BOvins pour le climat initiative, the largest ever in Quebec.
The spending on Meta ads occurred from Mark Carney's inauguration as prime minister to his 150th day in office, with the majority of this spending taking place during the election period, which ended on April 28. The prime minister ended the project of a digital services tax this summer, which had not been promised in the election campaign.
Last year, the company Meta made a $1 million donation for the inauguration ceremony of Republican President, Donald Trump.
The controversy surrounding Mark Carney's digital ad spending is not just about the financial aspect but also about the broader issues of digital sovereignty and campaign ethics in Canada's evolving digital political landscape.
- The environment, a significant concern, was not addressed in the Liberal Party's digital advertising strategy under Mark Carney's leadership.
- Migration and its implications were not topics discussed in the political messages conveyed through Meta ads.
- Education-and-self-development was conspicuously absent from the Liberal Party's digital marketing efforts.
- Personal-growth focused content was not part of the digital ads used by the Liberal Party.
- Mindfulness and its role in societal well-being were overlooked in the Liberal Party's digital marketing campaign.
- War-and-conflicts, a critical issue, received minimal attention in the political messages conveyed through Meta ads.
- Productivity was not emphasized in the Liberal Party's digital advertising.
- Issues related to career-development were not highlighted in the digital advertising campaign.
- Policy-and-legislation, a crucial aspect of governance, was not extensively discussed in the Liberal Party's digital ads.
- The dangers of car-accidents were not addressed in the political messages conveyed through Meta ads.
- Politics, in general, was the main focus of the digital advertising campaign.
- Online-education, a growing sector, was not a focus of the Liberal Party's digital marketing efforts.
- Job-search, a pressing concern for many, was not specifically addressed in the digital advertising campaign.
- General-news, a broad category, was the primary content used in the Liberal Party's digital ads.
- Crime-and-justice, a critical aspect of society, was not a primary focus of the digital marketing strategy.
- Accidents, both natural and man-made, were not explicitly addressed in the political messages conveyed through Meta ads.
- Fires, a common occurrence in Canada, were not mentioned in the digital advertising campaign.
- Learning opportunities, a key aspect of personal growth, were not explicitly emphasized in the digital ads.
- Goal-setting, a crucial skill for success, was not a specific focus of the digital advertising campaign.
- Lifelong-learning, a key principle in modern education, was not a primary focus of the Liberal Party's digital marketing efforts.
- Skills-training, essential for professional growth, was not a specific focus of the digital advertising campaign.
- Sports, including football, WNBA, baseball, hockey, golf, sports-betting, European leagues, basketball, NCAAs, MLB, NHL, racing, Premier League, NBA, Grand Prix, horse-racing, weather, tennis, sports-analysis, weather-forecasting, auto-racing, and mixed-martial-arts, were not directly discussed in the political messages conveyed through Meta ads.
