Tracking federal parties’ Meta spending in the campaign
The six federal parties are turning to digital media with big cash to get their messages out during this election.
The Hill Times is tracking the daily and weekly advertising on Meta through Facebook and Instagram ads.
On March 23, the first day of the 44th general election, the parties spent a combined $250,000-plus on Meta ads, with the governing Liberals outspending the opposition Conservatives by 14 to one. The Tories were quick to play catchup, dropping more than $100,000 on March 25. The New Democrats, Bloc Québécois, Green Party, and People’s Party of Canada remain far behind the two front-runners.
In the first week of the election—March 23-29—the six main federal parties spent a combined $1.3-million, with the Conservatives starting out slow, but boosting their daily spends as of March 25. The Liberals have led the pack in Meta spending, maintaining between $80,000-$120,000 in the first two weeks, save for a $68,000 spend on April 4. The total campaign spend as of that date reached $2.4-million for all parties, and by April 12 was up to $3.6-million. The Liberal advertising dropped slightly by the third week, leading to a nearly $1.9-million output by April 12, followed by the Conservative’s $1.6-million.
Near the end of the fourth week, April 19, total Meta spending rose to more than $5-million, with the Liberals’ continuing to outpace the Conservatives for a final tally of $2.7-million compared to $2.1-million. The other parties are not in the same league, with the NDP and Bloc Québécois next in line with spends at $89,000 and $88,000, respectively. The Greens are in the back at $63,000.
In total, the six main parties spent over $829,000 during the pre-writ week from March 16-22, with the Conservatives leading the pack.
Outside third-parties like Canada Proud, Protecting Canada, the Canadian Taxpayers Association, and the Friends of Canadian Media spent between $2,000 to 10,000 each day of the pre-writ week. Third-party spending is also regulated during elections, with a limit of $5,166 per riding, but an overall limit of $602,700.
According to Election Canada’s online registry, 74 third parties have registered for the 45th general election as of April 7, compared to the 105 who had registered during the previous election in 2021. During the first week of the election, registered third parties spent nearly $70,000, with the Public Service Alliance of Canada spending $26,273 from March 23-29, according to Meta’s Ad Library
sbenson@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
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