Cost Per Canadian for April 3rd

Welcome to this week’s Cost Per Canadian edition. We’re tracking over $256,000 of spending by Conservatives, BC United, Naheed Nenshi and a handful of politically unaffiliated groups in the last week.

Seven-Day Ad Spend (23rd-29th March)

Noted:

BC United added some new ads to their stable this week, clearly attempting to riff on the perceived success of the Poillievre/CPC “Axe the Tax” campaign that they’ve been shovelling pre-writ funds into.

Despite the BC Election still being months away, BC United’s ad spend is significantly higher than that of the other provincial parties. This year alone, they’ve spent $235,000 on Meta ads.

The Government of Alberta is running a selection of questionably non-partisan ads with money typically reserved for sharing important information with the public. People in Alberta may be feeling a little gas-lit by ads highlighting wildfire response investment, given the UCP’s cuts to those services in the past.

Naheed Nenshi is outspending the next closest spender (Sarah Hoffman) in the ANDP leadership race at a rate of more than 4:1 ($17,556:$4,231).

AI generated scams and misinformation are making it through Meta's filters, including this example that uses an AI generated soundalike of Justin Trudeau shilling for a crypto scam. More than $30,000 was spent on ads like these in the last week.

The digital advertising landscape in 2024 is so precisely targeted that for many people, it’s impossible to know which ads your neighbours, friends and family are being influenced by. We track the biggest spenders and high-profile campaigns every week on Meta, keeping you in the loop with what the rest of Canada is seeing.

More from Point Blank