Canada is Talking... about the elections

Building resilience to polarization in the run-up to the federal election

Canada is Talking is a campaign launched by Digital Public Square as a part of our ongoing work to build resilience to polarization online in Canada. This campaign was designed to engage Canadian netizens in the run-up to the Canadian 2025 federal election, with a particular focus on Canadians who were feeling apathetic towards the value of voting and Canadians with lower levels of trust in our electoral institution. Extreme narratives are often more visible during election periods due to increased attention on politics and competition between political groups.

Cause

Resilience-building

Locations

Canada

Status

Online

Campaign Goal

Address concerns and grievances of Canadians who are feeling sceptical towards the election process, with the goal of increasing confidence and participation in our democratic institutions.

Campaign Audiences

We wanted to engage Canadian netizens at scale, while also aiming to engage Canadians apathetic to voting, and Canadians with low trust in our electoral institutions.

Campaign Reach & Impact

1,200 completions in 3 weeks

At the start of the interactive modules…

  • Approximately 22% of participants indicated that they would likely not trust the outcome of the federal election
  • Approximately 20% of participants indicated that they were not planning to vote at the upcoming election

After completing the modules…

  • 60% of participants indicated they were more likely to trust the outcome of the federal election
  • 66% of participants indicated they were more likely to vote in the upcoming federal election

Visit the site

Go to CanadaIsTalking.com to learn more about how our elections work through trivia and opinion polls.

More about the project

Canada is Talking is part of a Digital Public Square initiative, funded by Public Safety Canada, to tackle polarization and promote civic dialogue. Over the next year, we’ll be hosting a series of events, dialogue sessions, reports, and innovative digital experiences that confront polarization in Canada.

Together with project partners, we will address some of the most polarizing issues in Canada - from the upcoming federal election and its fallout to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. We hope to engage Canadians on these issues to promote critical thinking, civic dialogue, and opportunities to identify shared values.

Tackling polarization through resiliency-building campaigns online

Polarization and Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) threaten social cohesion and democratic processes in Canada. Digital Public Square is working to study emerging narratives that promote extreme attitudes and respond with thoughtful and empathetic content that welcomes the input and voice of Canadians.

Canada Is Talking aims to engage Canadians to share their perspectives on social and political issues, and which aims to promote non-violent political participation as means of addressing their concerns. We believe that political engagement should be welcomed and promoted, but that civility is a prerequisite.

If you are interested in learning more or supporting our work, reach out to hello@digitalpublicsquare.org.

Visit Site