Social & Digital Media Polarizing Public Opinion in Canada

Join MISC for the Winter 2024 Eakin Lecture, delivered by Raphaël Melançon.

This lecture focuses on how the advent of the Internet and social media has, in the past two decades, contributed to amplifying social tensions, polarizing public opinion, and radicalizing political discourse in Canada. Through recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Freedom Convoy protests, as well as the Black Lives Matter, Idle No More and #MeToo movements, the talk will highlight how social and digital media have played an active role in the growing popularity of far-right (“alt-right”) and far-left (“woke”) movements and parties amongst Canadian voters, as well as the social and political circumstances that allowed these movements to emerge. In a comparative approach, Raphaël Melançon will also demonstrate how the situation in Canada is similar or different from that of other liberal democracies in the world and offer a look at how this new phenomenon could evolve in the future and further impact Canadian politics.

Raphaël Melançon is an experienced practitioner working as a consultant and journalist specializing in public affairs, government relations, strategic communication and crisis management.

This lecture will be followed by a Q&A and a reception.

This event will be livestreamed and recorded: https://youtube.com/live/REpNRL35rBk

Free event, registration required.