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.
Reversing the party’s decline won’t come from better rebranding. The new leader must reconnect with workers, confront populism, and restore political purpose.
These online media/advocacy influencers aren’t really like the media because they don’t provide balanced information, nor are they really like advocacy groups because they don’t seek to persuade the public. The upshot of all this is that political polarization increases, as everybody starts to see the other side as the enemy. This is not good for democracy.
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 Liberals’ $2.3-million in digital-focused ads in 2024 demonstrates the lack of confidence the party had in its previous leader and message, says EOK Consults’ Harneet Singh.
Young male voters backed the Tories, while boomers flocked to the Liberals in an election that saw generations grapple with dividing ballot-box questions.
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.
The Hill Times asked three partisan digital communications experts to look at the ‘best’ campaign ads so far from the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP.
A fragmented media landscape has increased the value of social media experimentation, but an NDP stumble may show the risk of full campaign integration, says digital strategist Michael Roy.
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.
‘Message discipline has long been [Pierre] Poilievre’s kryptonite, and anyone expecting him to abandon the affordability focus in favour of a singular message on Canada-U.S. relations would be mistaken,’ says ex-CPC staffer Josie Sabatino.
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.
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.
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.
However, a former federal Liberal candidate says the leadership race can provide the party with a captive audience for their messaging.
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.
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.
In 2024, the strategy to reach undecided voters looks fundamentally different than it did just four or five years ago.
