NOVEMBER 2024: X Marks the Vote — How Influencers Shape Canadian Politics
In the 2024 U.S. election, Joe Rogan, Taylor Swift and Elon Musk made headlines for their endorsements. Similarly, Barack Obama’s endorsements of Justin Trudeau in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian campaigns were significant moments during the election. But how do Canadians view such endorsements? Do they matter to our political decisions?
We surveyed 1450 Canadians in a nationally representative survey to assess their familiarity with and trust of some of the most influential celebrities in the US and Canada’s information ecosystem. The figure above shows that, among eight major figures shown, Barack Obama is the most recognized (93% of respondents), closely followed by Elon Musk (87%) and Taylor Swift (86%). When it comes to trust in their opinions on Canadian politics, this figure also shows that Obama has the largest proportion of Canadians that give high trust (65%), whereas Musk has the largest share of Canadians that give him low trust (75%). Notably, only 5% of Canadians report that celebrity endorsements influence their own political opinions, but 50% believe that such endorsements sway others.
To dig further, we assessed the extent Canadians approve or disapprove of political endorsements by these celebrities. Our survey found that generally twice the number of Canadians’ disapprove of celebrity endorsements versus approve (36% disapproval vs 15% approval). This gap grows larger when the endorsement comes
from non-Canadian figures (53% disapproval vs 8% approval).
Our survey findings show the broader skepticism of American cultural influence on Canadian politics despite the overwhelming visibility of U.S. figures on platforms like X. For example, as shown in Figure 2, X (formerly Twitter) data shows that Elon Musk commands unparalleled reach, with billions of views — surpassing any other figure included in our survey 25 times over. Prominent influencers like Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson also command a lot of attention in Canadian politics (measured in engagement with Canadian influencer and politician content that tags, retweets, or replies to them on X).
Our findings this month reveal a tension in the way we engage with and trust celebrity influencers. While Canadians lean towards disapproving of political endorsements by celebrities, these figures like Obama, Musk, and Swiftremain some of the most recognized and influential voices in the Canadian information ecosystem. Their visibility, varying trust levels, and perceived impact on others shows a meaningful way celebrity endorsements shape public opinion. Despite Canadians’ skepticism towards celebrities wading into politics, it is likely the messenger still matters—even if the message itself is unwelcome.
Key findings:
Canada post strike, tied for the most talked about story of the year
Canadians place little trust in celebrity and well-known political influencer endorsements
Concern about US foreign influence jumps 7%
Persistent misinformation in the Canadian information ecosystem