The contrast between Quebec and the rest of Canada’s response to the tug-of-war between Ottawa and Meta is striking, both in the political and business worlds.
This week, the federal and Quebec governments announced the withdrawal of their advertising from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to protest the web giant’s decision to block links to Canadian news.
Meta aims to force the Trudeau government’s hand by opposing Bill C-18, which would require web platforms to pay royalties to the news media.
Ottawa and Quebec City’s decision to withdraw advertising was followed by several Quebec municipalities as well as some Quebec media outlets.
FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL PARTIES DIVERGE
As far as political parties are concerned, however, the situation varies dramatically.
In Quebec, all parties have stopped advertising on Meta platforms.
Premier François Legault’s office confirmed to The Canadian Press on Friday that the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), as well as all CAQ MNAs, have ended their Facebook ad buys.
The Quebec Liberal Party and Québec solidaire did not have any ads on the platform at the time of the controversy, and will not launch any until further notice.
The Parti québécois, for its part, had already decided to withdraw its advertising from Facebook at the end of June.
At the federal level, the opposite is true.
The Liberal Party of Canada has not followed in the footsteps of the government it leads.
Both the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP) have confirmed, in e-mails to The Canadian Press, that they are maintaining their advertising on Meta.
As for the Conservative Party, the question doesn’t even arise, since the Conservatives are opposed to Bill C-18.
Only one federal party has withdrawn from Facebook: the Bloc Québécois.
REAL LEVERAGE?
According to analyses provided by Professor Jean-Hugues Roy of the Université du Québec à Montréal, Meta generated between $3.7 billion and $4 billion of advertising revenues in Canada in 2022.
With these numbers in mind, the ad withdrawals announced so far do not constitute a major loss; for example, Ottawa says it spends around $10 million a year on Facebook and Instagram.
The bulk of the money raised by Meta in Canada comes from private advertisers. The Quebec business community has begun to withdraw, at least in part, while little appears to be moving in this direction elsewhere in Canada.
MOBILIZATION OF AGENCIES AND ADVERTISERS
In addition to the withdrawal of Quebec state-owned companies such as Loto-Québec and the SAQ liquor retailer, the president of Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce, Michel Leblanc, called on companies Thursday to boycott Meta’s platforms completely.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s association of advertising agencies (A2C) is relaunching its local media project, called Mouvement médias d’ici, first created three years ago.
The movement calls on companies to devote at least 25 per cent of their advertising budgets to local media.
“What we’re saying is: realize that there are other options,” said A2C president and CEO Dominique Villeneuve.
“We didn’t want the target to be too big to reach, but for everyone to be able to make changes to their media plans and investment. What’s changed is that we’ve created a public commitment.”
“We’re in discussions with several advertisers, and many agencies have already followed suit and signed up. We’re very enthusiastic about the current response,” she continued, adding that the names of the signatory companies should be announced next week.
STATUS QUO ON THE CANADIAN SIDE
A2C’s Canadian counterpart, the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), has not called on its members to take action. In a statement sent to The Canadian Press, the association said it’s “disappointed to learn that global platform giants are preparing to block news for Canadians.”
Its president, Ron Lund, asserts that “blocking links to Canadian news is not fair to consumers or advertisers of online content.”
But the ACA confines itself to encouraging Google and Meta “to continue to work with the government to find a win-win solution.”
The only movement outside Quebec has come from major Canadian media outlets, which are stakeholders in the conflict by nature. Initially, the Toronto Star went at it alone, but the CBC, Postmedia and Bell Media joined the movement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 8, 2023.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
