Digital Public Square

Our survey suggests that Canadians should be concerned about the growing challenge of affective polarization. When Canadians see people with opposing political beliefs with hostility, the quality of our democracy suffers. Read the full report here: dpsorg.substack.com/p/new-report-p…

3. The far left and the far right see themselves especially positively, while seeing the other side as immoral and not wanting the best for the country.

New report - Political Polarization in Canada: Divides Between the Left and Right Digital Public Square ran a survey to see how Canadians perceive polarization, what they think are its causes, and what the left and the right think about one another. Here’s what we learned.

Read about what we learned at Polarization in the Public Square here: substack.com/home/post/p-18…

Our speakers came from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds. What they had in common was a commitment to standing up to polarization in our society—whether in our universities, places of worship, or online spaces.

In October 2025, Digital Public Square held the Polarization in the Public Square Conference, an opportunity for civil society, academia, and government to come together to explore solutions to the growing problem of political and social polarization in Canada.

Read why addressing racism must be part of the solution: substack.com/home/post/p-17…

68% of Canadians who identify as ethnically Chinese worry that foreign interference reports could fuel anti-Asian racism. Our research shows that fear of backlash can weaken community engagement on one of Canada’s most urgent national security issues: transnational repression.

Read why we need to understand the relationship between trust in genAI and democracy here: dpsorg.substack.com/p/how-does-ai-…

As genAI technology proliferates, there is a risk that it could worsen trust in democracy—especially among young people.

Is there a relationship between young Canadians’ trust in generative AI technology, declining trust in democratic institutions, and the spread of genAI-powered mis/disinformation?

Register for Hack the Divide: luma.com/dtcw176s Hosted by Digital Public Square and Code for Canada

We are glad to announce our final judge for Hack the Divide! Emily Traynor Mayrand is an expert in the downstream impacts of polarization. Her experience in academia, the practitioner space, and government, provides great perspective on the impact potential of projects.

🔗 Register for Hack the Divide: luma.com/dtcw176s Hosted by Digital Public Square and @code4ca

We are excited to announce our second judge for Hack the Divide. Charles Finley is a civic leader with great experience launching and advising organizations for social impact. Charles will provide teams with feedback on impact potential and inclusivity.