Women and Gender Equality Canada has become the first federal department to permanently delete its X accounts, with internal documents citing hateful online comments and the mental strain placed on employees responsible for managing the government's social media presence.Blacklock's Reporter says an internal memo obtained through Access to Information records shows the department shut down its four official X accounts on May 29 after concluding the costs of remaining on the platform outweighed any communications benefits.Deputy Minister Frances McRae wrote that the department had already stopped posting on X after an International Women's Day message in March 2025 generated what she described as a particularly high volume of hateful responses.The memo does not include examples of the comments.According to McRae, employees responsible for moderating the department's accounts were increasingly affected by the volume of hostile posts."Posts to the channel have attracted a significant volume of comments consisting of hate directed towards women and LGBTQ people and to the department more generally," the memo states. "This situation has created significant mental strain for employees charged with managing these channels."Despite deleting the department's accounts, Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez retained her personal X account..McRae also decided against publishing a final message announcing the department's departure from the platform, arguing that doing so would likely trigger renewed attention and another wave of abusive comments."I considered the option of making a final post on X in making this decision," she wrote. "However, due to inactivity since March 9, 2025, any new posts will generate a push notification for existing followers... which in itself would likely generate another round of hateful comments that would need to be managed and addressed by the social media team."The memo said many organizations and individuals who regularly engage with the department had already moved away from X and now communicate through other social media platforms."After assessing the costs and benefits of engagement with X over the longer term, in consultation with the Privy Council Office and Treasury Board Secretariat, I have concluded the costs to the department of continuing to engage on the X platform outweigh the benefits," McRae wrote.She added the department would shift its communications efforts to platforms it believes are more effective for reaching its intended audiences.While Women and Gender Equality Canada is the first federal department to abandon X entirely, it is not the first to complain about online criticism.Last December, then-deputy immigration minister Harpreet Kochhar wrote to the House of Commons immigration committee alleging departmental officials faced harassment and threats after videos of their parliamentary testimony circulated on X.Kochhar warned that public anger generated by the clips was leading to officials being targeted online.Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner dismissed the concerns during a committee hearing, arguing that officials who believed they were being threatened should report the matter to police rather than expect Parliament to alter its scrutiny."We will not roll over to make it easier for you," Rempel Garner told the committee.
