Two local federal candidates among top spenders in online ads

If you have noticed the increase in political ads on social media, you’re not alone and it’s deliberate.

Candidates for elections in all levels of government have been moving more of their ad dollars online in an effort to make sure their message is reaching as many people as possible.

Kitchener Centre, MP, Mike Morrice has been identified as one of the top spenders over the first two weeks of the federal campaign.

Harneet Singh, political advisor and digital strategist, was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show and said Morrice was in the top five online spenders for the first week of the campaign.

“I’m breaking news here, he (Morrice) is actually top two in the country if you add week one and week two which we now have data for,” said Singh, but he added, Morrice isn’t alone.

“We have Kitchener/Conestoga MP Tim Louis is currently running for re-election. He also is among the top ten when you look nationally and top five if you look at Ontario spending. He spent over $2,500 in the first two weeks.”

Singh said that it’s not just the candidates that have caught onto the power of online advertising, the parties have to.

“We have seen over $2.6 million being spent by the leading federal parties. The Conservative party and the Liberal party, they’ve both spent over a million dollars in the first two weeks of this campaign. That shows the importance of this campaign. The digital game is as important as the ground game, and no surprise that Mike Morrice and other campaigns in Waterloo Region are spending quite heavily.”

Singh pointed to several reasons why digital spending has increased dramatically over the past few years, but there is one in particular that sticks out.

“Over 20 million Canadians log into Facebook or Instagram on a daily basis. So, when you have that many people logging into the platforms everyday, campaigns cannot be far behind. They want to make sure you see their message. They want to ensure their narrative gets out.”

For the two local candidates, Singh mentioned the uniqueness of the ridings as a reason to adopt a robust digital strategy. Kitchener Center is represented by the Greens both provincially and federally, something only one other riding in the country can boast: Saanich-Gulf Islands in British Columbia is represented by Green Leader Elizabeth May federally and Rob Botterell provincially. While Kitchener-Conestogo has an interesting mix of urban and rural constituents.

Singh said each of those ridings present different challenges for reaching voters so a digital approach makes sense.

Canadian’s head to the polls on April 28.