Cost Per Canadian for October 30th

If we lie down and play dead, maybe the federal election won't notice us.

Author

Frazer Black
October 30, 2024

Presented by Point Blank 

We’re back after a few weeks off with a fresh edition of Cost Per Canadian. In this edition, we highlight the massive ongoing investment by the Conservative Party of Canada in ads ahead of the upcoming election and share a long read about West Coast Proud from The Tyee.

Frazer, Digital Director. Point Blank

Seven-Day Ad Spend
(19th October - 25th October)

Page

Spend

Conservative Party of Canada

$67,167

Protecting Canada

$61,376

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party

$39,156

Saskatchewan Party

$30,064

Fair Share Report

$20,471

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

$17,285

Marit Stiles

$15,404

The Globe and Mail

$14,346

Forestry For The Future

$12,368

HSAA - Union of Health-Care Professionals

$11,201

Seven-Day Ad Spend By Federal Party
(19th October - 25th October)

Party

Spend

🔵 Conservative Party of Canada

Including spend by the leader.

$78,140

🔴 Liberal Party of Canada

Including spend by the leader.

$4,099

🟢 Green Party of Canada

Including spend by the leader.

$140

🟠 New Democratic Party of Canada

Including spend by the leader.

$0

Noted

List building ads from the Federal Conservative Party.

The Conservative Party of Canada continue to be the only federal party spending anything of significance on the campaign for the 2025 election. One way or another, Canadians will go to the polls in less than twelve months. However, this does not seem to have motivated either the Liberal or New Democratic parties to build supporter lists or share their vision for Canada.

Spending big, early, isn’t a guarantee of success (see: BC United nee BC Liberals outrageous spending on TV commercials months out from the election); however, in the case of the Conservative Party of Canada, it’s clear that they're dominating the narrative across the country and turning every issue in every province into a referendum on Justin Trudeau, regardless of how relevant (or irrelevant) he is to the topic at hand.

With this kind of inertia building behind Pierre Poilievre, it is past time for the parties and third-party advertisers on the left to end their managed retreat from the airwaves and start earning the support of Canadians rather than just assuming that they’re entitled to their votes. Why would people cast a ballot for you if they don’t know who you are?

Protecting Canada’s video ad attacking Pierre Poilievre. Click through to watch.

One third-party advertiser who has not been sitting on their hands is Protecting Canada, who has spent ~$170,000 since they launched their campaign about a month ago. The campaign is centred around video ads highlighting the double standard of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre qualifying for a pension valued at over 3.4 million dollars while voting to raise the retirement age. These videos run alongside image ads attacking Poilivre for his stance on women’s healthcare, gun safety and his ongoing refusal to get top-level security clearance.

Companion ads from Protecting Canada targeting Pierre Poilievre.

One of a handful of ads run by West Coast Proud during the pre-election period in British Columbia.

We weren’t the only ones who noticed West Coast Proud’s ads during the pre-election period in BC. Back in September, we published the details of what appeared to be a breach of the rules in British Columbia by West Coast Proud:

The law in BC requires third-party advertisers that choose to run ads during the pre-election or election period to, among other things:

- Register with Elections BC before sponsoring any advertising

- Include their name and contact information on all advertising

What this means, in practice, is that very few third parties advertise in BC in the pre-election and election period, typically wrapping up their campaigns before that period starts (this year, it was July 23rd). So, imagine our surprise when the Meta Ads Library Report listed conservative-aligned West Coast Proud running this ad in the days leading up to the Writ, in the designated pre-election period, without including a disclosure on the ad or registering with Elections BC.

Zak Vescera from the Investigative Journalism Foundation published this excellent deep dive into the ads in partnership with The Tyee, their origin, and the eye-watering amount of money these groups spend to influence campaigns seemingly without any accountability. Click through below to read more.

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 regarding what the rest of Canada is seeing.