This report examines differences across age groups in three areas of democratic participation: communication, formal political participation and community civic engagement. It also reflects on how youth may participate in the 2019 Canadian election.

Australia’s electoral process is not the private fiefdom of political parties. There are a variety of actors permitted to participate in our democracy and become involved in election campaigns.

This research shows that the vast majority of Australians (84%) support the introduction of rigorous truth in political advertising laws, which could force untruthful claims to be removed or retracted during election campaigns or see political parties that breach the law hit with fines or reductions in their public funding.

In the context of growing concerns over the strength of democracy, the influence of authoritarianism and ideological competition, this publication delves into the complexities and implications of elections in India, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand.

This is the first report from the Digital Democracy Project, a partnership between the Public Policy Forum and the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. The goal of this report is to provide an initial snapshot of the Canadian political media ecosystem leading up to the federal election in October.