Our Work

Publications

See a problem in Canada you want to fix? Can an e-petition help?

Astroturfing and Abuse: The 2023 SAMbot Alberta General Election Report

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.

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

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

Engagement and Abuse on Toronto's Digital Campaign Trail: The 2023 Toronto Mayoral By-election Report

Exploring engagement, toxicity, and civic conversations across online and offline spaces in the Toronto by-election.

Who Cares About Toronto’s By-Election?

How are our policies around elections limiting voter engagement - and what do we need from policymakers in order to make things better?

Online Abuse in Local Elections: The SAMbot Municipal Report

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in eight municipal elections across Canada by monitoring candidate and political party accounts.

Bring back the Bots: How Twitter’s latest change threatens our democracy

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

SAMbot 2021 Federal Election Report

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in the 2022 Federal election by monitoring the Twitter accounts of incumbent candidates and party leaders.

SAMbot 2022 Ontario Election Report

SAMbot tracked toxic tweets in the 2022 Ontario election by monitoring the public Twitter accounts candidates and official parties.

Learning Loss as Civic Loss: Addressing the Generational Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Democratic Engagement

Learn more about the state of youth civic learning and engagement in the context of the pandemic.

Locally Grown: A Survey of Municipal Politicians in Canada

We analyze survey data from municipal leaders across Canada to better understand how local politicians experience public life.

Temperature Check: Canadian Democratic Attitudes in a Pandemic

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

Representation in Isolation: Member of Parliament Survey 2020

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

Digital Contact Tracing: A problem for democratic governance

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.

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

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.

Towards a Virtual Parliament: Design choices and democratic values

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.

Westminster Parliaments Compared: Four approaches to emergency lawmaking and scrutiny

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.

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

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.

Real House Lives

House Inspection: A retrospective of the 42nd Parliament

After the experience of a bruising election campaign, a new Parliament is a chance for a fresh start. For new Members of Parliament (MPs), taking their seat in the House of Commons is powerful, emotional, and memorable.

Let's Talk Digital

“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.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations

For many Canadians, social media has become a popular space to talk about politics. By allowing users to freely express their opinions and exchange ideas, social media can be a powerful tool to strengthen our democracy.

The Reform Act Revisited

Canada’s Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to represent their constituents by debating and voting on proposed legislation in the House of Commons.

You Have Our Attention: Youth Political Engagement in Canada

The 2015 federal election saw a stunning surge in youth participation. Turnout increased from the previous election in 2011 by nearly 40% among 18- to 29-year-olds—an unprecedented increase.

Party Favours: How Federal Election Candidates Are Chosen

Pries open the “black box” of nomination contests in Canada to examine how political parties select candidates.

Don't Blame "The People": The Rise of Elite-Led Populism in Canada

This report uses new data to help answer the question: is Canada having a populist moment? And if so, why is that a problem?

2019 Democracy 360

This is the Samara Centre for Democracy’s third edition of the Democracy 360, a made-in-Canada report card on the state of Canada’s democracy.

Investing in Canadians' Civic Literacy

What civic literacy is, why it matters, and how we can foster a more civically literate public.

Elephant on the Hill

In the spring of 2018, 266 political staff of Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, and Senators took part in an anonymous survey about their perception and experiences of sexual harassment and assault in their workplace.

The Real House Lives: Strengthening the Role of MPs in an Age of Partisanship

Peeking behind the curtain into the hidden world of leader-dominated, hyper-partisan party caucuses.

Beyond the Barbecue: Reimagining Constituency Work for Local Democratic Engagement

A new vision for constituency offices as civic hubs and outposts of Parliament, rather than service centres.

Flip the Script: Reclaiming the legislature to reinvigorate representative democracy

Elected representatives are critical in returning our representative democracy to health. But in Canada, Members of Parliament have been drifting away for decades from the essential work citizens require of them—of legislation, representation, and scrutiny.

The 2018 Member of Parliament Survey

In the spring of 2018, the Samara Centre for Democracy continued its annual tradition of surveying current Members of Parliament.

No One Is Listening: Incivility in the 42nd Parliament, and how to fix it

That's the gentle, colourless way that Hansard, Parliament's official written record, has often recorded heckling in the House of Commons for the last 150 years. But "Oh, oh" is an understatement.

2017 Democracy 360

Our second comprehensive report card on the health of Canadian democracy, examining how Canadians communicate, participate, and lead in politics.

Can You Hear Me Now? Young People and the 2015 Federal Election

The 2015 election reversed a 20-year decline in voter turnout, bringing overall voter turnout from 61% in 2011 up to a surprising 68%, which is a sizeable change in voting behaviour, rarely seen in federal elections.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Electoral Reform

A national conversation about how we, as citizens, choose our representatives is an excellent opportunity to get Canadians engaged—to make democracy more accessible, more familiar, and more relevant to them.

Cheering or Jeering? Members of Parliament Open Up About Civility in the House of Commons

In the spring of 2015, the Samara Centre surveyed Members of the 41st Parliament on their experiences with heckling in the House of Commons.

What is a Speech from the Throne?

Every new session of Parliament begins with a Speech from the Throne. What is it and why do we need it?

Message Not Delivered: The Myth of Apathetic Youth and the Importance of Contact in Political Participation

Over the last 30 years, Canadians have watched with concern as voting rates among younger people have declined, with the result that in the 2011 federal election, the majority of young people opted not to cast a vote.

2015 Democracy 360

Samara's Democracy 360, a report card on the state of Canada's democracy, focuses on the complex relationship between citizens and political leadership.

The Reform Act

In 2014, Parliament passed The Reform Act with overwhelming cross-party support. The hope was to incrementally democratize party caucuses in Parliament, by shifting certain powers from the leader back to Members of Parliament (MPs).

Tragedy in the Commons: Former Members of Parliament Speak Out about Canada's Failing Democracy

Tragedy in the Commons is a 2014 book written by the co-founders of The Samara Centre for Democracy, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan

By Invitation Only: Canadians' perceptions of political parties

An exploration of Canadians’ perceptions of political parties from a new angle—what Canadians think parties should be doing, and how well they are performing those roles.

Lightweights? Political Participation Beyond the Ballot Box

Volunteering and donating to charitable causes are considered important parts of being Canadian, rightfully celebrated and encouraged as a means to improve this country.

Lost in Translation or Just Lost? Canadians' priorities in the House of Commons

Examining the extent to which Canadians' priorities are reflected in the House of Commons, comparing data on public opinion and parliamentary activity.