Dozens of Canadian politicians and governments have stopped posting via their X accounts over the past year. Most did so quietly, simply moving their communications to other platforms, like BlueSky. A few were more high profile, like the sampling provided below.
- April 3, 2025 - Yukon stops using X as part of pushback on U.S tariffs
- January 8, 2026 - Paula Simon's calls for the Canadian government to stop using X
- January 13, 2026 - Victoria MP Will Greaves suspends use of X
- January 24, 2026 - Guelph MP pauses using X for social posts
- February 5, 2026 - New Brunswick leaving X
The decision to leave X has to be one of the easiest choices to make by any elected representative. Do I choose to communicate on a relatively safe social media platform, or have my posts literally sit next to pro-nazi propaganda and AI generated nonconsensual nude photos? It's astounding to me that the exit from X has not been a stampede, but rather a trickle. Our politician's reputations are being defined by their weighing of follower numbers versus supporting a noxious environment driven by a harmful algorithm. If they remain on X, what do they really stand for?
We should be grateful for those politicians or governments that have left X. But they are running away from a toxic platform without considering that they should be running towards a better solution.
BlueSky has become the safe alternative for those giving up on the Musk application. Like Meta, Threads, Instagram, or LinkedIn, Bluesky has all the same flaws as X, but with slightly better moderation. The key issues for Canadian government officials remain the same:
- Official Canadian communications are posted and stored on U.S. controlled technology
- The platform determines what messages are promoted or silenced
- The platform algorithm generally drives negative engagement
- Majority of the platform users are not Canadian, and a significant portion are fake accounts.
- The objective of the platform is to collect and sell user data, not to inform or participate in discussion
Mastodon is the solution to the issues listed above. It is an open source software platform that is distributed locally around the world. Choosing a local server in Canada, run by Canadians, means your communications are held in our country under our jurisdiction. There is no corporate entity running Mastodon, which means no algorithm, no data collection and no selling of user information. The politician remains in control of their message. Mastodon's goal is building local social communities which means engagement is typically higher on content.
There are challenges. The current community in Canada, although enthusiastic, is small. To build Mastodon's numbers we need politicians and media to invest their time and effort in establishing their presence. We will promote and support that effort, and that in turn will draw in more users. We call on our politicians and governments to move towards a Canadian social media community on Mastodon, and help us jointly achieve Digital Sovereignty.
Paul Busch, @ElbowsUpforDigitalSovereignty
