Identity strategies and campaigning: a look at the 2021 Canadian electoral campaign.

This paper addresses the strategies of appropriation of the web and social networks by diversity candidates during the 2021 Canadian federal election campaign. Based on an analysis of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts by diverse candidates, we will discuss the strategies used to highlight or downplay gender, sexual, religious or racial identity in order to campaign and promote their candidacy. As social media platforms call for personalization and identity-based communications, as well as the unveiling of private lives, it is interesting to see how candidates will use them in the campaign. This paper therefore aims to answer the following questions: How do candidates present themselves and their identities in the campaign? What is the role of direct and indirect identity strategies in their online campaigns? We will answer these questions by taking a systematic look at both quantitative and qualitative strategies. Fueled by our work on gendered mediatization and the personalization of political practices, our work allows us to revisit these notions theoretically and offer a conceptualization of the phenomenon. Our research is unique in that it focuses on Canada, whereas the literature focuses on the United States. It will be useful for other researchers interested in party dynamics. Our contribution is also methodological as our work puts forward the development of a coding approach that identifies direct and indirect appeals to identity in electoral communication strategies. Direct references involve talking about their own identities, while indirect references address policies that matter to voters with similar identities (e.g., racialized candidates and policing) and groups with whom they share identities (e.g., a candidate meets with members of YEG Parity or other women's organizations). While there is little research on the identity-based uses of social media in campaigns, this study lifts the veil on this under-researched dimension of web use during elections. The fact that our analysis focuses on the digital communications of candidates instead of the more often studied leaders also fills a gap in theoretical and empirical studies on the subject. Finally, this research offers a new look at what is happening in North America from the point of view of digital communications in election campaigns.