Social media might not be to blame for Canadians鈥� ideological polarization, a new report on digital democracy in Canada finds.

The latest findings are from an ongoing effort led by the Public Policy Forum and McGill University鈥檚 Max Bell School of Public Policy called the Digital Democracy Project.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 use social media very actively,鈥� said reseracher Eric Merkley. 鈥淧eople on Twitter are not representative of the broader population.鈥�

Instead, the study argues polarization in Canada arises partly from intense party loyalty and how far apart Canada鈥檚 political parties are, meaning party positions are an important factor.

Also, researchers found that people did not appear to make meaningful distinctions in their views between politicians from opposing parties and their supporters.

鈥淭his is troubling,鈥� the study says, because it suggests 鈥減olarization does not just influence people鈥檚 opinions about the parties, but also how they view ordinary Canadians.鈥� Each other, in other words.

Researchers found evidence that Canadians are 鈥渁ffectively polarized鈥� 鈥� they feel negatively towards other people simply for being part of the opposing group.

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That was based on three measures, including the levels of warmth participants in the study feel for their ideological comrades and opponents; how much they associate their allies and opponents with positive and negative traits; and how comfortable they feel with having someone from an opposing ideology as a neighbour, friend or relative.

鈥淧artisans have substantially colder and more negative feelings about ideologically opposed parties, compared to those that are ideologically proximate,鈥� and also see opposed parties as 鈥渕ore socially distant,鈥� the study says.

The study goes on to note that though Canadians do seem to be polarized, it鈥檚 probably not our use of social media that is causing the divide.

Based on an analysis of the activity of about 50,000 Twitter accounts, the Digital Democracy Project researchers found evidence supporting the theory that users tend to create 鈥渇ilter bubbles鈥� for themselves. Very few partisans, it found, follow information sources from other parties.

But the study suggests the echo chambers do not extend far beyond Twitter.

By comparing the Twitter data to information gleaned from the survey, researchers also found just 16 per cent of Canadians are exposed to strongly partisan news sources. A tiny fraction 鈥� fewer than one per cent 鈥� get more than half their news from 鈥減artisan-congenial鈥� outlets.

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Most Canadians still engage broadly with mainstream news sources, the study suggests.

If media consumption is not to blame for polarization, the answer the study offers instead is that 鈥渢he biggest driver of polarization seems to be ideology and partisanship themselves.鈥�

Strong partisans have much more intense feelings towards opposing parties than weak partisans, the study finds.

Christian Paas-Lang, The Canadian Press

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