A Facebook ad tracker that shows how much political candidates spent in advertising with the tech giant showed two out of three local winners spent the most.
Black Press had a look at Facebook spending for all of the candidates in Chilliwack-Hope, Abbotsford and Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, from June 23 to Sept. 20.
Mark Strahl, the incumbent and re-elected MP for Chilliwack-Hope, spent the most at about $6,200. Staying within that riding, NDP candidate DJ Pohl spent about $4,390. She also was the closest to unseating Strahl.
No other candidates in Chilliwack-Hope spent quite as much. People’s Party of Canada candidate Rob Bogunovic spent about $1,610. Liberal candidate Kelly Velonis spent $624, while Green candidate Arthur Green spent nothing.
In the Abbotsford riding, Liberal candidate Navreen Gill spent the most at about $5,180.
Incumbent and re-elected Conservative Ed Fast spent about $2,270. NDP candidate Dharmasena Yakandawela spent just $138. Kevin Sinclair (PPC) and Stephen Fowler (Green) spent nothing on Facebook ads.
And in Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, incumbent and re-elected Conservative Brad Vis spent the most at about $3,390.
Liberal Geet Grewal spent about $2,070 on Facebook ads. Lynn Perrin (Green), Tyler Russell Niles (PPC) and Nicole Bellay (Green) spent nothing on Facebook ads.
The amounts are reported to the public by Facebook. They do not include other advertising costs through media such as newspapers, radio and signage. It also does not include ads on Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) or other social media platforms. These numbers may not include money spent by riding associations and the federal parties. Complete financials from the campaigns won’t be available for several months, through Elections Canada.
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Note: This story previously had incorrect figures. The Standard apologizes for this and any confusion it may have caused.
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