Political advertising on Facebook has increased considerably in Canada over the past few years. The 2021 federal elections, for example, saw a large amount of advertising money spent primarily on Facebook. Therefore, it was not unexpected to see this trend continue during Ontario’s recent provincial election as well. During the campaign period, Facebook remained the leading digital platform, with a total of approximately C$2 million being spent on it by the five key provincial parties. As a digital and social media marketing agency for political campaigns, we analyzed these trends to provide insights into how effectively parties utilized this platform. Here are five facts regarding Facebook advertising in Ontario Elections 2022 that you should know:
1. Total money spent on Facebook Advertising in Ontario Elections 2022
As part of their efforts to promote their ideas and mobilize their supporters, the five main parties in Ontario (Liberal Party, PC, NDP, Green Party, and New Blue Party) did not hesitate to open their wallets for online advertising. Publicly available data indicates that the total budget for Facebook advertising for all parties was close to C$2 million during the campaign period only (May 4th – June 2nd). By spending the staggering amount of C$1.25 million on Facebook ads, The Liberal Party of Ontario outspent all of the other parties and spent more than double what the PC Party spent – C$537 K. Despite the fact it did not win the voters over as they would have hoped, it was certainly a very well-conceived and crafted online strategy. Based on these findings, Facebook advertising is by no means going away as a tool for political advertising anytime soon.
2. Total spending by party leaders combined
The leading provincial parties in Ontario also conducted online campaigns through their leaders’ Facebook pages. The Liberals also outspent the other parties by ten times via their leader’s official account to make sure that the little-known Steven Del Duca would be able to garner some brand recognition among the Ontario electorate. While the strategy didn’t turn out favourably at the polls, it does indicate that the Liberals considered Facebook as a viable platform to increase brand awareness for their leader. Steven Del Duca and Doug Ford were jointly responsible for the expenditure of C$182,000.
3. The number of ads ran in total on Facebook
All five parties posted a total of 4414 advertisements on Facebook during the campaign period. Considering the amount of money spent, it is unsurprising that the Liberal Party of Ontario was also leading in the number of advertising campaigns it ran – 2697, to be exact. Additionally, the PC party made an overall total of 811 ads, the NDP- 698, ON Green- 201, and the New Blue- 7 ads. In the same manner, as during the Federal elections in 2021, this data indicates that the Liberals engaged in a more sophisticated marketing strategy than their opponents – constantly testing new formats and messaging with new demographic audiences in mind.
4. Money spent by Elections Ontario to get out the vote
Elections Ontario utilizes Facebook to inform citizens about all the ways to vote as well as encourage them to exercise their democratic rights. In the three months between March 18th, 2022 and June 15th, 2022, the official Facebook page of Elections Ontario spent over $400,000.
5. Money Spent by 3rd Parties and organizations
Besides the five most prominent parties, a number of other third parties and organizations are also using Facebook to get their message across to a wide audience. For instance, OECTA – the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association – spent over $41K, CUPE Ontario spent over $36K, and the Ontario Nurses’ Association spent over $15K. Combined with other key organizations, such as the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Ontario Federation of Labour, and Ontario Home Builders’ Association, OPSEU spent close to $130K on Facebook advertising. As a digital and social media marketing agency for political campaigns, we recognize that these investments significantly influence voter outreach. It is also important to consider that there are also a large number of other political organizations and unions that advertise on Facebook, so we could easily increase this number by $50,000.
What do you think about the amount of money provincial political parties and leaders spent on Facebook advertising in Ontario Elections 2022? Share your thoughts below! Be sure to follow EOK Consults Inc on social media for the latest updates and insights on political digital marketing in Canada.