SAMbot Charlottetown Election

This material is part of the Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report.

‍

‍

Compared to other elections tracked by SAMbot, few Charlottetown candidates had a Twitter account and the cases that one existed there was limited activity. Subsequently, there was little to no abusive content on Twitter during the Charlottetown election. This may be because local residents were having online political conversations on other platforms. 

Different platforms capture distinct demographics, and although Twitter has been described by some as a “digital town square,” it is not the preferred platform for all Canadians. Certain populations are over-represented; for example, Twitter users are younger and more likely to hold post-secondary and advanced degrees than the broader population. There is limited research about differential platform usage across Canadian populations, particularly in rural communities, towns and smaller cities. It is critical to address this gap in data in order to fully understand how Canadians are using social media for civic engagement. 

Mayor Philip Brown was re-elected in 2022 and received 118 tweets during the election period, eight of which were abusive.

Among the candidates who were on Twitter, 11 of 18 didn’t receive any abusive tweets.

Unlike in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario municipal elections, Prince Edward Island School Trustee elections were held separately from city council elections. Therefore, Charlottetown school trustee candidates were not tracked by SAMbot.

‍

‍

Click here for:

• Vancouver
• ‍Surrey
• Ottawa
• Brampton
• Toronto
• Winnipeg
• Yellowknife
• Our methodology page

‍

This material is part of the Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report.

‍How to cite: The Samara Centre for Democracy, Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report, (Toronto: The Samara Centre for Democracy, 2023), http://www.samaracentre.ca/project/online-abuse-in-local-elections-sambot-municipal-report.