Humans of the House ranked #2 in Goodpods Top 100 Canadian Politics Pods

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February 13, 2025

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Humans of the House ranked #2 in Goodpods Top 100 Canadian Politics Pods

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Humans of the House, the Silver Medal winner for Best Podcast in the Consumer category at the COPA (Canadian Online Publishing Awards) has once again dominated the podcast charts - this time on Goodpods. The podcast was recently ranked #2 on Goodpods’ Top 100 Canadian Politics Podcasts of All Time list. Rankings are based on listens, ratings, comments, subscriptions, and shares.

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Humans of the House dominates the podcast charts - this time on Goodpods.

Humans of the House ranked #2 in Goodpods Top 100 Canadian Politics Pods

The Pointer interviewed Research Director Beatrice Wayne on the importance of strengthening communication between candidates and voters.

Beatrice Wayne on Enhancing Candidate-Voter Communication in The Pointer

In today’s Globe and Mail, Research Director Beatrice Wayne and Senior Research Coordinator Alex MacIsaac share insight from our latest report: Astroturfing and Abuse: The 2023 SAMbot General Election Report.

Samara Centre’s Latest Findings Featured in the Globe and Mail

Campaign strategist and community organizer Dave Meslin’s six-part documentary series, Unrigged is now streaming on TVO and on YouTube.

TVO Documentary, Unrigged, Now Streaming

In the 2023 Alberta election, we observed a significant amount of what may be inauthentic or fake, artificially generated engagement on Twitter. This included a very small number of users producing a disproportionate amount of abuse and a high number of potential bot accounts.

Inauthentic Engagement in the Alberta Election Discourse

The Samara Centre for Democracy monitored activity on Twitter¹ during the 2023 Alberta election as part of our SAMbot project, a multi-year machine learning initiative that measures abusive content received by Canadian political candidates on social media.

Astroturfing and Abuse: The 2023 SAMbot Alberta General Election Report

Party leaders Rachel Notley and Danielle Smith’s Twitter accounts had the most engagement of all tracked accounts.

Abuse across partisan lines, LGBTQ+ issues, and first-time candidates

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Sabreena Delhon, CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy, offers practical advice for Canadians looking to enhance their civic engagement.

CEO Sabreena Delhon Shares Civic Engagement Tips in University of Alberta’s New Trail Alumni Magazine

On Wednesday, January 8, The Samara Centre for Democracy along with the Government of Canada’s Open Government Team co-hosted a discussion about advancing open government in Canada.

Samara Centre Hosts Discussion on Advancing Open Government

A number of Canadian politicians have resigned from their posts, citing online abuse as a reason. But there is little data to quantify the amount and nature of that abuse.

Samara Centre’s SAMbot Research Featured in The Parliamentarian

The Samara Centre for Democracy's French-language podcast, Les Personnages de la Chambre, has been nominated for Best Podcast in the Consumer category at the 2024 Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPA).

Les Personnages de la Chambre Nominated for Best Podcast (Consumer Category) by the Canadian Online Publishing Awards

On January 6, 2025, Governor General Mary Simon granted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request to prorogue Parliament until March 24, 2025.

What does it mean for Justin Trudeau to “prorogue” Parliament?

In a period of democratic backsliding, the work of the Samara Centre for Democracy is more urgent and relevant than ever before.

2024 Highlights

In 2024, the Samara Centre team published timely analyses on technology's impact on democracy, political engagement, and civic participation in Canada, sharing insights across mainstream, policy, and peer-reviewed outlets.

2024 Publications

The Samara Centre for Democracy is frequently asked to provide commentary and analysis on a range of topics related to civic engagement and political participation. We regularly appear in print, broadcast and digital news networks across the country.

Samara Centre in the Media

SAMbot has received national media coverage and been presented at meetings across governmental, policy, technology, human rights and academic spaces.

SAMbot In The Media

Humans of the House has received national media coverage and has been the #1 show in the Government category for several weeks on Apple Podcasts where it has also been featured as a New & Noteworthy Special Series.

Humans of the House in the Media

CEO Sabreena Delhon Featured in CPAC Documentary on Online Harms and Cyberbullying

Our CEO, Sabreena Delhon, received a King Charles III Coronation Medal, presented at a special ceremony hosted at the Samara Centre’s office on November 1st.

CEO Sabreena Delhon receives King Charles III Coronation Medal

On Wednesday, December 4th, more than 400 people attended The Walrus Talks at Home: Polarization.

CEO Sabreena Delhon Participates in Walrus Talks Panel on Polarization

Samara Centre for Democracy CEO, Sabreena Delhon and Connie Walker, this year’s In Defence of Democracy feature speaker appeared on CTV’s The Social on November 12th, 2024 to promote our annual event.

In Defence of Democracy Featured on CTV’s The Social

What is truly threatening Canada’s democracy is the dominant story that we are disengaged and disconnected.

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On October 10th, we hosted an intimate gathering to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons, the bestselling book by Samara Centre co-founders Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan.

Celebrating a Milestone Moment for Tragedy in the Commons

To mark the 10th anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons our co-founders Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan reunited for a special bonus episode of Humans of the House hosted by Samara Centre CEO Sabreena Delhon.

Bonus Humans of the House Episode Featured in The Hill Times

On October 2nd, the Samara Centre hosted Democratic Innovation: What’s Needed, What’s Not Necessary, What’s Next featuring panelists Malorie Flon (Institute du Nouveau Monde), Bianca Wylie (Digital Public) and Sarah Yaffe (MASS LBP).

Montreal Event Explores How to Increase Public Participation in Politics

In this special bonus episode, we celebrate and reflect upon the tenth anniversary of the bestseller book, Tragedy in the Commons, written by Samara Centre for Democracy co-founders, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan. Samara Centre CEO Sabreena Delhon hosts this conversation to ask, what has changed? What has stayed the same? Where are the fault lines in Canadian democracy?

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Ten years ago, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan published Tragedy in the Commons.

Founders of the Samara Centre Reflect on 10 Years of the Bestselling Tragedy in the Commons in New Podcast Episode

Sabreena Delhon and Andrea Mariko Grant delve into solutions to tackle the harmful working conditions that local politicians are facing in a new Municipal World Magazine article.

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We sat down with the Pulitzer and Peabody-award winning investigative journalist ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

A Q&A with this year’s in Defence of Democracy Speaker: Connie Walker

CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy Sabreena Delhon joined Ontario Today host Amanda Pfeffer on a September 17th call-in show where listeners shared how political polarization is taking a toll on their interpersonal relationships.

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Lawyers and paralegals in Ontario can now listen to Humans of the House in partial fulfillment of their continuing professional development requirement.

Humans of the House Accredited by the Law Societies of British Columbia and Ontario

Bestselling book endures with critical insights about how to build a more resilient Canadian democracy

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Tragedy in the Commons

Resources for Canadians considering elected office

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Samara Centre for Democracy Advises on Safer Working Conditions for Elected Officials Before the Standing Committee on Procedures and House Affairs

Samara Centre for Democracy Advises on Safer Working Conditions for Elected Officials

Our CEO Sabreena Delhon was interviewed by The New York Times about foreign interference in Canadian nomination races.

CEO Sabreena Delhon in The New York Times

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Humans of the House Nominated for RTDNA Award

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Chloe Brown and Anthony Furey were among the most successful mayoral candidates, but as political outsiders, they faced barriers breaking into media opportunities.

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SAMbot Winnipeg Election

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Humans of the House Episode 5: I'm Going to Say the F Word

Humans of the House Episode 4: Unwritten Rules

What is Parliament Hill like as a workplace?

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So, you won an election and are officially a Member of Parliament. Now what?

Humans of the House Episode 2: Show Up and Glow Up

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Humans of the House Episode 1: You Wanna Run?

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Humans of the House: Trailer

We explain how ending free Twitter API access is a huge blow to research efforts.

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A selection of highlights and publications from the Samara Centre in 2022.

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Democracy is needed, now more than ever.

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Locally Grown: A Survey of Municipal Politicians in Canada

How did Canadians’ attitudes toward their democracy change with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Temperature Check: Canadian Democratic Attitudes in a Pandemic

Disrespect, rudeness, harassment, and abuse online have real costs for our democracy.

Four Ways Online Incivility Harms Canadian Politics

Federal political representatives in Canada share the democratic pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representation in Isolation: Member of Parliament Survey 2020

With other countries experiencing the negative consequences of digital contact tracing, we find that governance of such apps has been almost totally neglected, and argue this is an area where Canada can lead.

Digital Contact Tracing: A problem for democratic governance

As legislatures across Canada confront the crisis, we review the emergency responses taken in each province and territory (if any), and examine their recent steps to resume some degree of regular operations and parliamentary work.

Closer to the People? Adaptations to COVID-19 by Canada’s provincial and territorial legislatures

With governments struggling to adjust to the realities of physical distancing and restricted travel, we make the case for a hybrid virtual Parliament as the best option to keep our national legislature working throughout the pandemic.

Towards a Virtual Parliament: Design choices and democratic values

As the crisis marches on, we compare how the parliaments of Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada were convened to pass emergency legislation, who got to participate, and what has been put in place to keep tabs on government.

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After Parliament’s initial rounds of emergency lawmaking, we provide an evaluation of what our national legislature and leaders got right and what they got wrong.

Parliament Under Pressure: Evaluating Parliament's performance in response to COVID-19

After Parliament’s initial rounds of emergency lawmaking, we provide an evaluation of what our national legislature and leaders got right and what they got wrong.

Parliament Under Pressure: A Summary

Real House Lives

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“Let’s Talk Digital” is a non-partisan initiative aiming to engage youth (12-25 years old) in a series of workshops and engagement opportunities on digital citizenship.

Let's Talk Digital

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