After a recent flurry of social media controversies involving federal candidates across the political spectrum, a prominent campaign strategist says that Canadians need to realize politicians aren't "perfect all the time."
Stephen Carter, former campaign strategist for Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, told CTV News Channel this election campaign has seen a "new low" for politicians exposed for apparent transgressions on social media.
"They're dropping like flies," said Carter.
"Any of the major parties that are worth looking at, someone has been looking at their Facebook posts, their social media posts and bringing them down by pointing out these horrible sins that have been committed."
While Carter says that some of the gaffes should be "career-ending moves," he questions whether candidates are being looked at too closely under the microscope.
"My problem is, when does it stop," said Carter.
"I think maybe we should open our eyes and open our minds, and (realize) everybody is going to say some things that aren't perfect all the time," he added.
In Carter’s view, part of the problem is the fact that, even though candidates are vetted, "everything you put online is there forever."
"Even if you go back and delete your Twitter account, there are places that are storing your Tweets for essentially forever, (and) all are your Facebook posts are public even if you make your Facebook profile private," said Carter.
And the fact that candidates need to rely on social media for communicating with voters during their campaigns exacerbates the issue, he added.
Carter is concerned that the increased scrutiny could cause future politicians to abstain from taking any strong stances in public forums.
"My fears is that the only people who are getting into public office are people who have never had an opinion before in their lives, and I don't think that's necessarily better for the discourse," said Carter.
‘Clearly a toy gun’
On Friday, the actions of two federal candidates on social media were the subjects of controversy.
The NDP dismissed criticism that the husband of Katherine Swampy, who is running in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot Alberta, and his deceased brother posed for a photo with a man brandishing a handgun.
In the image uploaded to Instagram – and since removed – Armand Swampy is seen with his now-deceased younger brother and another man pointing what appears to be a handgun at the camera.
CTV News’ Laurie Graham asked NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair about the photo during a campaign stop in Edmonton, but Mulcair responded he had not seen it and could not comment.
In a statement issued later to CTV News, an NDP spokesperson said the gun is "clearly" a toy, noting the photo shows the barrel is not open and has a white tip.
"The photo in question includes Katherine Swampy's husband's younger brother who passed away from suicide … The death of his younger brother had (an) immense impact on Ms. Swampy's husband's life," according to the statement issued Friday.
The statement continues that Armand Swampy is a father of five, "an entrepreneur who runs his own construction business," as well as a tattoo artist. He also counsels suicidal youth in the community, and speaks to school kids "about getting an education and becoming functioning members of society."
It adds that Armand Swampy is "a supportive husband who helped Katherine achieve a university degree and strive to further assist her community by seeking to represent them politically."
According to her NDP profile, Katherine Swampy recently completed a BA in Economics from the University of Alberta and has worked as a tax officer for Canada Revenue Agency, as well as a census enumerator for Statistics Canada.
Facebook flap
Conservative candidate Konstantin Toubis was also facing questions about his social media conduct on Friday.
Toubis, who is running in the Toronto-area riding of King-Vaughan, was revealed to have shared several controversial articles written in Russian on his personal Facebook page. The articles touched on subjects such as sexuality, as well as women and alcohol.
His Facebook page appears to have been deactivated.
A statement released on Toubis' behalf said that he did not write the articles, but he did share them "years ago." He added that the "views expressed in the article do not reflect how I feel or who I am."
