Canadian politicians have increasingly taken to social media to campaign as well as communicate with constituents, sharing updates on policies, local events, emergencies or government initiatives.
But stories have emerged of constituents being blocked by their representatives. Should Canadian politicians be free to block their own constituents?
Some politicians claim the blocking is to combat increased online harassment, while constituents have claimed that simply being critical of policies or initiatives is enough to get them blocked.
Some recent cases in Canada include federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault being asked to unblock Ezra Levant on X in 2023, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith blocking constituents on X in 2023 and Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante blocking comments on X and Instagram in 2024. In 2018, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson was sued by three local Ottawa activists after blocking them on X.
Official communication and important information should not be provided by the politician’s personal account.
There should be official accounts for that purpose and those accounts should not be allowed to block users or delete posts. Replies to other users are a grey area.
They also shouldn’t be allowed to do anything political on their personal accounts, such as trying to get contributions or clarify political stances, etc. if they have any potential constituents banned or blocked