Our Data Isn't Political Currency: Protect Voter Privacy in Canada!

Right now political parties in Canada can collect your personal information from voter lists, data brokers, social media, and other sources without the same privacy protections that apply to businesses and public institutions. They can build detailed profiles about you, while you have little ability to access, correct, or delete your data.

This fall MPs will receive Parliamentary Petition e-7237, an appeal from more than 10,000 Canadians to apply privacy law to ALL political parties. If enough of us ask them to support that petition now, they’ll be forced to do the right thing and start providing voter data transparency, accountability, and real privacy rights. Tell your MP to support Petition e-7237!

To: Your Member of Parliament

Please feel free to edit your letter below.

Dear {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName},

As a resident of your riding, I’m writing to ask you to protect Canadians’ privacy by supporting Petition e-7237 and bringing federal political parties under meaningful privacy laws and independent oversight.

Currently, political parties in Canada can collect, use, and share personal information under weaker privacy rules than those that apply to businesses and public institutions. They can gather information from voter lists, data brokers, canvassing, social media, and other sources to build detailed profiles about adults and even minors — while people in Canada have little ability to know what information is held about us, correct inaccuracies, or request its deletion.

Canadians expect better. A recent Ipsos poll found that 80% of Canadians believe political parties should follow the same privacy rules as businesses and public institutions. Strong majorities also support the right to access, correct, and delete their personal data.

I am calling on you to:

1. Support Petition e-7237 and bring political parties under privacy laws;
2. Give Canadians meaningful rights over our personal information;
3. Create independent oversight of political parties’ data practices.

Our personal information should not be treated as political currency! Canadians deserve privacy, transparency, and accountability from the parties that serve us in our democracy.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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What We Are Doing—and What Else You Can Do

The recent data breach in Alberta, in which nearly 3 million Albertans had their personal information leaked by a political party,¹ has brought home just how unacceptable the status quo is to many Canadians - and now we’re speaking up!

Spearheaded by the Voter Privacy Coalition in Alberta and across Canada, this campaign has included an open letter to Alberta Premier Smith,² a federal civil society letter supported by more than 35 organizations and experts,³ and Parliamentary Petition e-7237, which has more than 9,000 online signatures and thousands more physical signatures to come.⁴ But we need your help to keep building momentum!⁵

Federal political parties collect and use deeply personal information about all of us without being subject to the same privacy laws and protections as businesses and public institutions. Unlike these organizations, political parties operate without independent privacy oversight, meaningful penalties for misuse, or basic privacy rights like the ability to see, correct, or delete the information they hold about you.⁶

Political parties should not be above basic privacy rules! People in Canada deserve the right to know what data is collected about them, correct inaccuracies, and have control over their personal information.

Together, we can demand voter privacy and accountability!

Sources

Alberta’s massive voter data breach is just the beginning – OpenMedia
Letter to Premier Smith: Place Political Parties Under Privacy Law – VoterPrivacy.ca
Civil Society Calls on Federal Political Leaders to Bring their Parties Under Privacy Law – VoterPrivacy.ca
Parliamentary Petition e-7237 (Information and privacy) – House of Commons
What Political Parties Can Collect About You in Canada – and How We Can Fix It – OpenMedia
Senator Colin Deacon about political parties' data practices – Senator Colin Deacon’s Substack

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Press: Matt Hatfield | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 0 | [email protected]