Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22 - Issue 10

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December 2016 // Canadian Government Executive / 25
Governing Digitally
age practices. China, meanwhile, is reportedly seeking to lever-
age big data as the basis of a social credit system for all citizens
and companies based upon worthy behaviour.
These shifting American and global contours of digital gover-
nance will undoubtedly impact Canada in important ways. Four
groups are especially important in determining the sorts of im-
pacts to be felt domestically: political parties, technology compa-
nies, the media sector, and the citizenry.
For political parties, comparisons and reactions to Trump are
inevitable, perhaps most especially within Conservative ranks.
For technology companies, strained relations between Silicon
Valley and President Trump are bound to shape industry-govern-
ment relations in this country, complicating Liberal Government
efforts to extend political oversight to security agencies and en-
sure privacy protections for Canadians.
In the evolving media landscape, Canadians are mainly by-
standers to the decisions of social media companies based south
of the border, but wider and more complex discussions present
themselves in terms of the coverage and reporting of political
discourse in this country. Here too, Trump’s relations with tra-
ditional media and usage of new media will shape our own col-
lective capacities for both thoughtful deliberation and divisive
theatrics. Despite campaign and mandate letter calls for a new
political culture, the Trudeau Government’s democratic reform
efforts have thus far been largely muted by traditional photo ops
and partisan fundraisers.
Finally, then, there is the citizenry, wearing many hats as vot-
ers, activists, and consumers. Much as the financial crisis of 2008
propelled the Brexit vote and the likes of Sanders and Trump,
much invariably depends on the performance of a global econo-
my facing renewed uncertainty. Beyond the economy, however,
citizens must also and always decide on what sort of society is
most valued and how collective determinations are made.
At a November Press Conference in Germany, just days after
welcoming his successor to the White House, President Obama
expressed optimism in the future due especially to the emergence
of an educated, outward and tolerant millennial generation. Yet
he also cautioned them to never take democratic freedoms and
their current way of life for granted.
J effrey Roy is professor in the School of Public
Administration at Dalhousie University ).