Mark Carney’s team paid $ 2 million in Meta to promote the Facebook and Instagram pages of the Liberal chief

Liberal chief Mark Carney, who campaigned this spring promising to ensure Canada’s “technological sovereignty”, sent tens of thousands of dollars a day in the United States at the same time for the promotion of his Facebook and Instagram pages.

While Mr. Meanwhile, Carney celebrates his 150 days as Prime Minister this week. Moreover, data compiled by The duty made it possible to trace $ 1,868,086 in advertising expenses made during this period with Meta, a Californian multinational now politically ranked behind the American president, Donald Trump.

The bulk of the amount was devoted to the electoral period. Meanwhile, which ended on April 28 with a victory by Mark Carney at the head of a minority liberal government. Meanwhile, For the only day on the eve of the election. However, on April 27, his party broadcast for $ 211,372 in advertisements mark carney’s team paid $ from the chef’s account.

Expenditure has not however completely ceased this summer, as evidenced by an advertisement launched not later than Sunday, overseen of a message in French from Mark Carney inviting its sympathizers to respond to a “survey”. It actually refers to a form to collect personal data to feed the databases of the Liberal Party of. Canada (PLC).

Since mid-May. the PLC has been spending each day between $ 175 and $ 1,300 for this kind of advertisements on Meta, which are mainly used to highlight publications on the Facebook page entitled Markjcarney202. The Prime Minister’s office did not want to explain this choice. preferring to refer the questions from Duty to the party.

Meta. the mark carney’s team paid $ mother company of Facebook and Instagram platforms, never digested that Justin Trudeau’s previous government would have tried to share part of his profits with press companies. The web giant has been preventing Canadian users from sharing any new article for over two years.

“Ethical problem” – Mark carney's team paid $

This ban on sharing news did not. however, prevented the main Canadian political parties from continuing to resort to Meta services.

And this poses “an ethical problem”. according to Alain Saulnier, former director of French information services in Radio-Canada and author of the book Stand up to web giants (Ecosociété, 2024). “If we want to claim a certain form of digital sovereignty. you have to free yourself from the American web giants,” he said in an interview.

Mr. Saulnier doubts that Mark Carney shares the commitment of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, to supervise the web giants. He recalls that the Prime Minister ended this summer to the digital services tax project. which had not been promised in the electoral campaign.

This 3 % tax would have been applied to any purchase of Meta advertising. as well as on digital purchases from Amazon, Google, Uber or Airbnb. The White House celebrated its abandonment by saying that the Carney government had “yielded” to its requests.

Prime Minister Mark Carney personally has actions by Meta Platforms. hundreds of other large companies, shows a list published in July by the office of the Commissioner for Conflicts of Interest and Ethics. In the past year. the Meta company has given $ 1 million for the enthronement ceremony of the Republican President, Donald Trump, among other actions to please him.

The 2025 liberal electoral mark carney’s team paid $ platform promised to provide Canada with “digital tools” to solve different problems in society. and insisted on the need for the country to develop artificial intelligence to “ensure our technological sovereignty”.

In an email at Dutythe PLC specifies that its campaign joined people “both in their communities and on digital platforms”. He ensures scrupulously the law.

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