Fewer than half of the men and women seeking to represent Abbotsford residents in Parliament have turned to Facebook to persuade voters during this campaign
A library created by the social media giant following legislation designed to improve online transparency of political ad buys shows only four of the 11 candidates campaigning in the Abbotsford and Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon ridings have spent money on Facebook in the past month.
The highest spender, by far, has been Jati Sidhu, the Liberal incumbent in Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon. Sidhu, who faces a tough test to defend his seat, had spent $13,004 on 87 different advertisements as of Wednesday morning. No one else in the riding has spent money on Facebook ads during the campaign. Conservative Brad Vis, who narrowly lost to Sidhu in 2015, said he is focused on door-to-door campaigning.
The neighbouring Abbotsford has seen three candidates spend on Facebook ads, but nowhere close to the scale of Sidhu.
Conservative incumbent Ed Fast had spent $2,726 on 29 advertisements. The NDP’s Madeleine Sauve, meanwhile, has spent under $100, on two ads – both of which have begun to run within the last week.
In Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, both John Kidder and the Conservative riding association had ads taken down in June after they were posted without a disclaimer that had just become necessary for political ads. Both Kidder and the Conservatives spent less than $100.
Facebook’s Ad Library also allows users to see just what messages each candidate is paying to spread.
See the ads:
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