Throwing Election Promises Against The Digital Wall: Will They Stick?

The midpoint of the federal election campaign has arrived and with it the release of the detailed (and costed) Liberal Party of Canada 2019 Election Platform. While most observers will focus on the high-profile issues in the platform such as universal pharmacare and climate change, regulatory and policy geeks will also enjoy a veritable feast of new policy promises directly affecting the communications sector.

The policy positions contained in the election platform are ambitious. In several key respects, the platform departs from the approach to communications policy taken by the government during its first mandate. Whereas to date the government’s approach has been relatively cautious, the election platform provides a stark contrast in throwing caution to the winds on its proposed digital policy going forward.