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The Internet has been heralded as the most revolutionary technology since the printing press. Within political science, much work centres around the democratizing potential of the Internet. Cyber-optimists argue that the Internet has the capacity to equalize political competition for parties. Other scholars argue that the Internet will not dramatically change the status of minor parties. Politics on the Internet will be `politics as usual'. Empirical support for both theories is mixed. Research has shown that party-centred countries are more likely to become equalized as a result of the Internet than candidate-centred countries. Using data from the 2004 federal election, this article argues that the Internet has not led to an equalization of party competition in Canada. The websites of nine political parties show that despite equal access to the Internet, there is unequal success in cyberspace for Canadian parties.

Political actors in Canada are using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The Canadian government has been lauded for its success in the online delivery of services, but it has been criticized for not employing the Internet for more democratic purposes, and little attention has been paid to this most recent development. This article examines the extent to which Twitter is being used by Canadian government departments and agencies. It asks whether governmental use of Twitter fits into previous patterns of service delivery oriented e‐government or whether it is taking advantage of the possibility for democratic interaction afforded by social media. Based on a content analysis of Government of Canada tweets, the paper finds that service delivery characterizes government tweets and shows how nominal a commitment the Canadian government has made to using Twitter as part of its well‐established and lauded e‐government strategy.

COVID-19 has made videoconferencing a regular occurrence in the lives of Canadians. Videoconferencing is being used to maintain social ties, run business meetings—and to uphold responsible government. On April 28, 2020, Members of the House of Commons sat virtually using Zoom. The virtual sitting was the first of what will become a stand-in for regular proceedings, allowing the Members to fulfill some of their parliamentary duties while complying with physical distancing (see Malloy, 2020). As the legislative and executive branches look to digital technology to allow the business of government to continue, what about the judicial branch of Canada's government? Courts are an essential service. This is best articulated by the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia: “The fact is, the Courts cannot close. As the third branch of government, an independent judiciary is vital for our Canadian democracy to function. It is never more important than in times of crisis” (Wood, 2020). In this analysis, we seek to understand how courts have responded to COVID-19 and the challenges of physical distancing through the use of digital technologies. This is accomplished through a systematic review of COVID-19 statements and directives issued from all levels of court across Canada. We briefly compare Canada to the United States, a jurisdiction that demonstrates greater openness to technology.

Abstract.Canadian political parties have been using the Internet as a campaign tool since the 1997 election.Rebuilding Canadian Party Politicsby Carty, Cross and Young (2000) presents one of the first analyses of Internet-based communications during a Canadian election. It is also one of the most important assessments of Canadian party systems. The book outlines the components that characterize the fourth party system, which they argue, began after the 1993 election. Regionalization is the defining characteristic of this emerging system. The book argues that the Internet, like other communication technologies, is important in this latest party system. Consistent with the notion of regionalized campaign communications, the authors suggest that Canadian political parties use the Internet to target campaign messages to different regional and sociodemographic groups and enter into private conversations with voters. Using original data collected from the 2004 federal election, this paper reflects on these claims. The paper builds the case that the use of the Internet as a campaign tool is not consistent with their argument. Internet-based campaign communications in Canada by the major parties is neither regionalized nor targeted. Rather, this technology makes campaign communication more transparent and centralized.Résumé.Au Canada, les partis politiques utilisent Internet comme outil de campagne depuis l'élection de 1997.Rebuilding Canadian Party Politics, par Carty, Cross et Young (2000), présente l'une des premières analyses des communications sur Internet pendant une campagne électorale. Il constitue aussi l'une des plus importantes évaluations des systèmes des partis politiques canadiens. Le livre dégage également les éléments qui caractérisent le système à quatre partis qui est né, selon eux, après l'élection de 1993. La régionalisation est la caractéristique déterminante de ce nouveau système. Le livre soutient qu'Internet, comme les autres technologies de communication, est important pour ce nouveau système à quatre partis. Conformément à la notion de communications de campagne régionalisées, les auteurs suggèrent que les partis politiques canadiens utilisent Internet pour cibler les messages de campagne selon les différents groupes régionaux et sociodémographiques et engager des conversations privées avec les électeurs. Le présent article examine ces affirmations à partir des données recueillies lors de l'élection fédérale de 2004. Il établit que l'utilisation d'Internet comme outil de campagne ne cadre pas avec leur argument. Les campagnes de communication sur Internet menées par les principaux partis au Canada ne sont ni régionalisées ni ciblées. Cette technologie rend plutôt les communications des campagnes électorales plus transparentes et plus centralisées.