Social Media & Elections

2015 Election Results

Our class election results

Actual Canadian Results

Social Media & Elections in Canada

Today is election day in Canada. The goal of today's activity is to examine Canada's political parties through the lens of social media. We will be looking at how each party is using social media to connect to voters, how social media affects voter opinion, and the history of using social media as a political tool.

You will have a chance to examine the major parties based on social media and their key platform issues. You will then have a chance to vote at the end of class in our own mini-election.

Let's get started by looking at the first elections where social media played a key role

United States

Read: 2008 - The First U.S. Social Media Election

Read: Is Social Media's Significance Oversold?

What is the current state of the Canadian election?

Check out: Canadian Election YouTube Channel

Current Predictions: CBC's Poll Tracker

Canada's Main Parties on Social Media

New Democratic Party YouTube Channel

New Democratic Party Facebook Page

Short Promotional Video

Discuss:

  • Which party leaves the best impression on you from social media alone? What are they doing right?

  • Which party leaves the worst impression from social media alone? What are they doing wrong?

Examine / Compare / Contrast:

Last Step before voting:

  • Complete the VoteCompass Quiz to get a better idea of which party your values align with

Class Vote 2015

Social Media as a Tracking & Polling Tool

Social Media to Bring Voters Together

Social Media use also brings a whole new type of political risk...