The Conservatives’ ‘bread-and-butter’ messaging needs a sharper focus on national issues and Liberal failures as governing party keeps lead, says digital strategist Harneet Singh.
Even though the first few days of the ads’ planned six-figure broadcast schedule fall during a ‘challenging time’ for the party, the new campaign will help keep the Conservatives ‘on the front foot’ and on message, says Harneet Singh.
‘New Democratic Party’ is cumbersome to say and write, and is almost inevitably reduced to an acronym, which presents differently in English and French. A rebrand is in order to help reset public perception.
Trudeau-era limits for government ads were scrapped last year alongside the launch of a multimillion-dollar campaign drawing on the Grits’ 2025 ‘Build Strong’ election slogans.
The five main parties spent more than $5.5-million on Facebook and Instagram ads in the first 30 days of the election campaign, with the Liberals leading the Conservatives by nearly $1-million heading into election day.
Election Day is April 28. To sway voters, the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP have released ads ranging from ‘classic’ to ‘cringe-worthy,’ according to digital communication experts.
The Hill Times asked three partisan digital communications experts to look at the ‘best’ campaign ads so far from the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP.
While the Conservatives are flooding the airwaves with an array of innovative digital advertising, the Liberals’ ads remain ‘plain, straightforward, and boring,’ says Tory pundit Jordan Paquet—but that could be just the way they want it.
Political groups like Protecting Canada and Canada Proud previously spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook and Instagram, but have since logged off since the election campaign began.
In the first three days after the election call, the Liberals spent $301,000 on Meta ads for the party and their leader, outpacing the Conservatives’ combined $150,000.
Liberals take decisive day-one lead, spending $118,000 on Facebook and Instagram as Conservatives coast on a half-million-dollar pre-election-week spend on the platform.
The new PM’s $290,000 ‘investment’ in Meta advertising during the leadership race will pay dividends during a general election, says digital strategist Harneet Singh.
Most political consumers will reject the Conservative ad attacking Mark Carney as helping Donald Trump by driving jobs south because it won’t seem rooted in reality.
While the NDP can’t compete with the cash other parties have spent on Meta ads, an unorthodox swing is ‘exactly what the underdog needs right now,’ says former digital director Michael Roy.
New videos ads from the Grits and Tories are an ‘opening salvo’ as both parties look to ‘make sure their voice is heard’ between now and when a new Liberal leader is chosen, says former Liberal PMO staffer Dan Arnold.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge says it’s important to complete her mandate, but Carleton journalism professor Chris Waddell says he’s ‘not sure this will survive much longer than the announcement.’
Spokesperson Megana Ramaswami says the third-party campaign hopes to ‘open voters’ eyes’ to what a Poilievre led-government may bring as federal progressive parties dither.
As they fight for votes, Liberals can no longer rely on ‘polished, top-down’ TV ads to compete with the Conservatives’ ‘organic online long game,’ says EOK Consults’ Harneet Singh.
In the final weeks of November, the Liberals shrunk their Meta ad-spend margin compared to the Conservatives to just over $50,000.
How poor messaging on carbon pricing undermined Justin Trudeau’s climate agenda.
The efforts made to reach supporters with a message that an election could come at any time reflects the more unpredictable nature of this Parliament since the fall sitting began.
Grit strategist Greg MacEachern says the Liberals may have ‘missed the boat’ on defining Pierre Poilievre, allowing the Conservatives to succeed in a messaging vacuum.
The Tories are running ads about supervised consumption sites in Ontario and British Columbia on Facebook and Instagram. Meanwhile, individual Liberal MPs are advertising from their own pages about budget initiatives.
The government should embrace a bolder, more strategic, and creative approach to promoting its climate change initiatives.
