Canadian Study of Parliament Group Seminar: Parliament and the Media
The media landscape is changing rapidly as Canadians obtain their news and information in ways one couldn’t conceive of just a few years ago. The relationship between Parliament and the media is also evolving, as parliamentarians leverage social media and other direct communications tools. On February 21, 2025, the Canadian Study of Parliament Group held a seminar to explore the relationship between Parliament and the media – past, present, and future.
Adam Lauzon
Panel One: Institutional Context
The first panel brought together Miriam Fleury and Olivier Duhaime from the House of Commons and Mélisa Leclerc from the Senate of Canada to provide an overview of the institutional framework.
Miriam Fleury and Olivier Duhaime presented on the role the House of Commons’ Corporate Communications team and the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons play in supporting the House of Commons. Their work is guided by four principles: 1) protecting the reputation of the organization and its members, 2) establishing a constructive dialogue of good faith with the media, 3) ensuring that the public has access to accurate and timely information, and 4) fostering integrity and impartiality. To uphold these principles, Fleury and Duhaime rely on an internal network of subject matter experts who assist in drafting responses to media inquiries. They follow a strict approval process to ensure the accuracy of the information provided.
Fleury and Duhaime then described their efforts to engage with traditional and social media. For traditional media, there is a page on the House of Commons website that provides non-partisan media products issued by the House of Commons Administration. Media enquiries are directed to Duhaime, who serves as the Director of Outreach and Media Relations in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. When responding to media requests, Fleury and Duhaime emphasized the importance of providing accurate responses within reasonable timelines, while preserving the credibility and transparency of the House of Commons. They also take great care to catalogue all media requests and responses, which ensures consistent messaging. The House of Commons maintains a presence on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, with multiple accounts on both platforms to promote the Speaker’s Office, the House Administration and procedural services, including work done by various House of Commons committees and in the chamber. Fleury and Duhaime explained that with their traditional and social media efforts, they are able to ensure that everyone has the tools and services they need to communicate with various target audiences, such as members of Parliament and their staff, the media, and Canadians. They stressed their commitment to being as generous as possible with the information provided, ensuring it remains non-partisan.
Next, Mélisa Leclerc discussed the Senate’s relationship with the media. Leclerc explained that her primary focus has been to increase media coverage of the Red Chamber. She described the challenges the Senate has faced with getting media coverage, including a stronger interest in the proceedings of the House compared to that of the Senate and skepticism as senators are appointed rather than elected. Leclerc also pointed to challenges in the media landscape, with shrinking newsrooms and tighter deadlines, which have limited the media’s research capacity.
In feedback sessions held with various media outlets to find out how to increase Senate coverage, Leclerc was told to be strategic with the timing of news releases. For instance, a report released on Wednesday afternoons will likely compete with coverage of the Prime Minister’s regular attendance for Question Period in the House of Commons. Leclerc was advised to provide reports under embargo, giving media outlets sufficient time to conduct any needed additional research and write their stories. While this suggestion raised concerns, Leclerc noted that sometimes senators themselves would advise the media in advance to attract coverage of forthcoming committee reports. She also mentioned the importance of packaging releases or reports in a way that assists the media. As many outlets lack the resources for extensive research, providing comprehensive context and supplementary sources increases the likelihood of receiving coverage on a particular report or issue.
To better promote the Senate, Leclerc and her team have focused on bringing attention to Senators’ efforts outside of Ottawa to advance different initiatives. Leclerc explained that Senate travel outside the National Capital Region is generally referred to as “fact-finding missions.” These missions include extensive communications plans, with at least one member from Leclerc’s team accompanying a delegation to engage local media and secure coverage for the issue(s) being advanced.
Similar to her colleagues in the House of Commons, Leclerc and the Senate have used social media platforms to connect with key audiences. They post live updates of Senate debates on X to reach media, consultants, stakeholders, and Canadians. The Senate also uses X to promote committees and key witnesses. For example, when ministers appear before a committee, their participation is promoted on social media. Leclerc also noted that LinkedIn has been particularly useful in connecting with young professionals, politicians, and other stakeholders. These refined approaches to traditional media and social media engagement have helped Leclerc increase Senate coverage, particularly maximizing coverage of Senate committee reports.
The first panel concluded with a brief discussion on the impact of a change in government on the House of Commons and Senate Communications teams. Fleury, Duhaime and Leclerc indicated that they did not expect significant challenges. In the House of Commons, the focus would be on preparing for the upcoming sitting, including the election of the Speaker, while Leclerc mentioned that efforts will be spent preparing for the Speech from the Throne and developing communications products that explain why the speech is delivered from the Red Chamber instead of the House of Commons.
Panel Two: The State of Research
The second panel highlighted current research on interactions between Parliamentarians and the media. Panelists included Anne-Marie Gingras from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Alex Marland from Acadia University, and Kat Sullivan, an analyst with TACT, a public relations and government relations agency.
Anne-Marie Gingras spoke first, describing how political actors sometimes use the media to attack their opponents. This strategy attracts public attention to an issue, and because the media report on it, the issue gains more legitimacy than if a politician were to criticize their opponents directly. Gingras cautioned the media to avoid becoming entangled in political disputes, as their role is to operate in a public space and serve as a critical check on political leaders to protect democracy.
Gingras’s remarks also highlighted the importance of having institutional rules. Noting that without safeguards, dictatorships can take hold. She pointed to the early days of the Trump administration as a cautionary example and wondered who would stop the President – whether it would be the Supreme Court, Republican politicians, or the American people.
Alex Marland highlighted some detailed findings from his forthcoming book, No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics (co-authored with Mireille Lalancette and Jared Westley, due to be released in 2025). Marland observed that elections have shifted from being about how officials vote in legislatures to being about their personal views and outside behavior. He noted that party discipline has been replaced by message discipline, with politicians now serving as brand ambassadors. Additionally, there is increased pressure on backbenchers to toe the party line. Marland noted the lack of training for representatives on how to advocate for their constituents. He emphasized the importance of civic education for those wishing to engage in politics.
Marland also discussed a change in power dynamics within political parties, with power shifting from backbenchers and ministers to the Prime Minister’s Office and political staffers. He coined this trend “executive creep,” pointing out that it has become easier to expel someone from caucus for relatively minor infractions. This has led to an increase in independents, but not by choice. Marland also noted the rising presence of party staff in caucus meetings and how leaders seek to control the message.
Kat Sullivan was the final speaker on the panel, sharing findings from their PhD research on Canadian mayors, focusing on gendered variation in their social media use, their motivation to use these platforms and their digital gendered visual performance. Sullivan’s research showed that a gender divide exists in politics at both the municipal and federal levels, and emphasized the importance of understanding how gender impacts power dynamics in Canadian political institutions.
Their research shows that gender continues to play an important role in politics, particularly in terms of female mayors’ motivations for using social media and the gendered barriers limiting women’s participation. Indeed, Sullivan’s work shows that the political experience remains gendered, and that female politicians tend to experience more online harassment, receive unwanted comments about their appearance and have to manage a greater mental load. Sullivan thus insists on the need to understand the impact of gender on power dynamics in Canadian political institutions.
Sullivan added that the news media help perpetuate gendered roles in the public sphere, for example, by focusing on the exceptionality of women in politics. Thus, Sullivan recommends that news media and political institutions adopt gender-neutral language, develop and integrate digital etiquette to reduce gender trolling, and aim to change political philosophy, including through training opportunities aimed at equal and inclusive access to political roles.
Panel Three: Experience of Parliamentarians and Journalists
The third panel brought together a sitting senator, a former party leader, and two journalists for a direct discussion on the challenges and realities of their collaboration. Erin O’Toole, former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Senator Paula Simons were joined by Marie Vastel of Le Devoir, and Aaron Wherry of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Erin O’Toole began the third panel by discussing the media’s role in contributing to political polarization. He referenced the term “fourth estate” coined by Edmund Burke to signify the power of the media in society. O’Toole expressed concern with the decline in traditional media consumption and the rise of digital and social media, which often spread misinformation. He urged people to be mindful of where they obtain their information.
O’Toole emphasized the importance of maintaining a presence on social media platforms to ensure diverse perspectives are heard. He suggested following people with differing views to gain a broader understanding of opposing perspectives.
Senator Paula Simons began her opening remarks by describing an existential crisis in the information age and pointed to how President Trump has banned the Associated Press from the White House and from being on Air Force One. Canada is also in a dire situation with traditional media outlets like CBC, Global, and CTV News still hanging on, while Postmedia newspapers are featuring less local journalism. This makes it very difficult for politicians to reach audiences outside of the Ottawa bubble. Senator Simons stressed that more than ever, there is a need for a free and outspoken press. Politicians have a role in this too as they can support the media with openness and transparency.
Simons, a former journalist now with her own podcast, then shifted to describing her experiences with social media, explaining that she was an early adopter and has enjoyed the ability to engage with the public. However, in February 2025, Senator Simons posted on LinkedIn, “with a mixture of regret and relief” she was letting her Senator Facebook page go dormant and was taking down her senatorial Instagram account. In explaining the move, she said that she grew tired of fighting with bots and that legacy social media platforms have become quite toxic.
Marie Vastel began by stating that there is responsibility between media and politicians to restore confidence in Canada’s political institutions. She acknowledged that there is room for improvement with the media and that they need to admit when mistakes are made and include context in the explanation. Vastel explained that politicians sometimes are evasive when answering questions and the public picks up on this. Echoing a point heard in Leclerc’s presentation, Vastel shared that journalism has become surface-level because journalists do not have the staff or time they used to have, particularly to support research.
Vastel shared that she has largely disengaged from social media because there is uncertainty about with whom she would be interacting – be it bots or trolls in other countries. In a Parliamentary context, she argued that Question Period and committees have become a spectacle for social media clips, rather than substantive debate. Committees need to be protected because they can do meaningful work and improve legislation.
Aaron Wherry expanded on Vastel’s point in describing how Parliament has become a studio for recording social media clips, especially Question Period. Because of this, he said it is hard to see Parliament as worth covering. He emphasized the need for more substantive coverage, which requires clear answers from both the government and opposition. Wherry added that journalists face a lack of information and disclosure, and politicians should work to share more context and knowledge with the press.
The seminar was the second of the Canadian Study of Parliament Group’s 2024-2025 cycle, the first being “Parliamentary Privilege in Practice” held on November 19, 2024. It was followed by an event entitled “An inclusive Parliament?” on April 25, 2025. More information on the group and its activities may be found at: https://cspg-gcep.ca/
Adam Lauzon is a member of the CSPG Board.