With a federal election looming, senior government officials are quietly searching for ways to reduce growing divisions across Canadian society. An internal presentation obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act reveals the Department of Canadian Heritage is actively developing ideas to rebuild trust, counter misinformation, and improve civic unity in the face of rising political and social polarization.
The document, prepared for a November 19, 2024, session with senior civil servants, notes that recent global elections have weaponized issues such as immigration, inflation, racism, and misinformation as “divisive wedge issues.” The presentation asked participants to consider how to deliver advice on social cohesion that would “resonate for the next government, whatever its complexion” (The Canadian Press, May 7, 2025).
“An individual’s trust in government strongly correlates with their last interaction with government,” the presentation states. “In the thousands of daily instances when somebody files a tax return, applies for a grant, renews a passport or receives a vaccine, we are creating experiences that influence their social attitudes and institutional trust.”
The document also identifies a need to “pre-bunk” emerging falsehoods before they spread, and to “debunk lies through fact-checking,” calling for a blend of public education and policy reform to improve media literacy. Officials floated ideas such as a national digital media literacy strategy, stricter labelling of artificially generated content, and removing financial incentives for spreading misinformation.
Matthew Johnson, director of education at the registered charity MediaSmarts, responded to the leaked document by saying, “It was certainly gratifying to see it mentioned.” He added, “We simply don’t have the data that we need to be making decisions about digital media literacy policy. We’re one of the only countries that does not have any kind of baseline of how media-literate our citizens are, either young people or adults” (The Canadian Press, May 7, 2025).
The presentation also recommends convening individuals from various levels of government and civil society to share best practices and promote a deeper understanding of Canada’s “diverse foundations and social fabric.” However, it also acknowledges the dilemma of government intervention in a climate of growing public distrust. As the document notes, “There is a tension in having the public sector intervene when distrust in public institutions is on the rise.”
The effort builds on previous meetings of senior officials dating back to 2019, underscoring what the document describes as a “broad and perennial interest” in social cohesion across the federal government.
Canadian Heritage declined to answer specific questions from The Canadian Press about the November meeting or whether any of the proposed strategies will be adopted. However, the document reflects a broader realization in Ottawa that more deliberate, transparent, and citizen-centered engagement may be needed to prevent Canada from drifting further into the political polarization seen elsewhere in the world.
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