Liberals spend thousands on Facebook ads, after banning news on Facebook

The Liberal party has piled up as much as quarter million dollars into 2,100 Meta ads since Mark Carney was selected Liberal leader March 9, after blocking news on the platform through Bill C-18. 

This after the Liberals introduced legislation causing Facebook to muzzle news links.

The Liberal-NDP coalition government in 2022 introduced the controversial Online News Act despite opposition from the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois. It went into effect in August 2023.  

Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted the legislation as a beacon of “fairness” in the online world. The bill compelled social media platforms like Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and YouTube to pay media companies when a user shares a news link. 

Meta responded by telling Ottawa Canadians would no longer have access to news content on their platforms. Trudeau called them bullies and refused to negotiate. Liberal leader Mark Carney was Trudeau’s economic adviser at the time. 

"The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians' access to local news than pay their fair share is a real problem, and now they're resorting to bullying tactics to try and get their way. It's not going to work," said Trudeau on June 7, 2023. 

Then-Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez said the Online News Act served to “put the power of big tech in check.” 

The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) said the fact that Facebook, Google and other platforms "use, but do not pay for, journalism work, has been highly destructive for the news media industry."

Carney two days before he called the spring election told reporters, “in this time of crisis, the government needs a strong and clear mandate.”

“We’re offering a way of positive change for the country,” he said, 

“I am a serious person. I am a very practical and pragmatic person. We have to build.”

Funds spent on federal elections campaigns on Meta are made publicly available through Meta’s Ad Library. Each ad is posted individually with a range indicating how much that particular ad costs. 

Most ads cost less than $100 (without specifying how much less), while others have a range of $200 to $300, and others are between $1,000 and $1,500. 

In total, the Liberals spent at the very least $78,400 and up to $289,702 on approximately 2,100 ads.

The Conservatives have spent substantially more, but on fewer ads. The Meta Ad library indicates the Tories have spent between $983,800 and $1,253,503 on approximately 700 campaign ads since March 9.