Move over MoveOn and start screaming Deany Babies, Canada might once again trump the United States in the realm of Internet and politics

OTTAWA, Canada, June 23, 2004 - Canadians go to the polls next Monday for a federal election that will determine the country's next government. So far the race is shaping up as North America's first federal election where the Internet played a crucial role in shaping its outcome. Last fall Canada also became the first country in North America to successfully conduct online voting, albeit in one municipal election. With just days before voting opens, it's still a toss-up between the Liberals and the Conservatives, placing an ever-important role on the parties' internet strategy to gain that extra edge to come out on top. Polls have see-sawed between Stephen Harper and his Tories, who may now be losing momentum in the sprint to the June 28 vote, and the current Prime Minister, Liberal Leader Paul Martin, who is running out of time to reverse his flagging electoral fortunes.

The party websites in this election have not pushed the technology envelope, and some analysts believe that web-based campaigning for the US election will leapfrog Canada in online engagement with voters (see the Hillwatch report). Canadian party websites have been relatively straightforward presentations emphasizing the party leader and the partisan "spin" on the campaign. In Canadian politics, separate English and French websites have to be maintained (except for the French-only site of the Quebec separatist Bloc Québécois), but most pages allow the user to quickly switch to the other language without navigating back through the site to the main page.

• Bloc Québécois
• Conservative Party
• Green Party
• Liberal Party
• New Democratic Party

All of the party websites in this campaign allow online donations, a change from the 2000 election when only a few accepted online contributions. Canada's election financing laws have changed significantly in the last year, banning most corporate funding and shifting the emphasis to individual donations. As well, all allow viewing of the party television ads. Information for the party grassroots, however, is typically placed on a restricted-access "intranet," so there is little opportunity for supporters to obtain the multimedia downloads (screensavers, wallpapers, and icons) so typical of movie marketing and used previously by some Canadian provincial parties.

Interesting features of note include the "e-cards" on the Bloc Québécois site; the Bloc allowing visitors to submit questions to pose to the Liberal leader in the televised debates; the Liberal Party's Stephen Harper Said site listing supposedly damning statements by the Conservative leader, and the Conservative site doing the same for the Liberals, Team Martin Said; and the New Democratic Party's signup for "e-campaigners" who solicit pledges and volunteers online.

There has been a major emphasis on getting young people to vote. Elections Canada has a section of its website devoted to young voters. The major parties were involved in a "Youth Text" event early in the campaign, when questions could be submitted to the party leaders by cell phone Short Text Messaging. The Liberal and Conservative parties had maintained youth text pages on their websites, allowing two-way text message communication with the party headquarters. The Liberal one disappeared after the Youth Text event, but the Conservatives appear to be continuing to use this medium.

In addition, a number of third party sites have been promoting the youth vote, including Apathy is Boring and Rush the Vote. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the principal union for federal government workers, set up its own "rant room" for young voters.

As in other countries, the Internet is also a preferred for source for Canadians wanting more information before they cast their votes. The most comprehensive non-partisan federal election information for voters can be found on the website of the government agency administering the election, Elections Canada website. PoliticsWatch.com, a website dedicated to covering the Canadian political scene, has set up a 19 question quiz that proposes to help people find a federal party leader who shares their political views. CanadaVotes2004 provides "ask a question" and daily poll features.

Blogs have been omnipresent during the campaign, although most have relatively little to offer unless the reader is interested in the weather in each stop on the leaders' tours. The Young Liberals of Canada blog, last updated on May 31, is a good example; the Conservative blog, predictably partisan, is another). There are also numerous media blogs, such as those maintained by The Globe and Mail newspaper reporters traveling with the party leaders and CanWest Global print and TV journalists, and blogs from political junkies (e.g., Warren Kinsella, Vancouver Scrum, and Revolutionary Moderation). Each of the national English-language TV networks has sent a bus across Canada to get stories on the public mood: CBC and Global keep up blogs respectively. CTV does not blog from its bus, but does publish regular stories.

A number of special interest groups have used their websites to set out their election concerns; see examples at the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Canadian Islamic Congress, and the Arthritis Society and the United Church of Canada, the largest Protestant denomination. In contrast, Roman Catholic bishops have been critical of some politicians, but only have a news release online.

A taste of the unusual can also be found circulating on the web. While they're not advocating that you use it as a guide for voting on June 28, the people at Puretracks have started a program in which Canadians can vote online to determine which political leader has the best taste in music. And for some unadulterated fun to get out your frustration on the party leaders there's the website WhackThePM.com. The satirical, interactive site allows online surfers to punish each of the party leaders for whimsical responses to serious questions by bonking them over the head with a mallet.

Log on to PoliticsOnline for continuing coverage of the Canadian elections.

Daniel Hayward is a technology consultant to several Canadian federal and provincial political parties, and the former technology manager for the Liberal Party of Canada.