Liberal winner in Vancouver Granville spent twice as much on Facebook ads as NDP runner-up

Vancouver -

In a hotly contested B.C. riding where the federal Liberal candidate defeated the NDP runner-up by less than one percentage point, the winner outspent his rival by more than double on Facebook ads.

Taleeb Noormohamed won Vancouver Granville with 34.4 per cent of the vote to 33.5 per cent for the NDP’s Anjali Appadurai – a difference of just 436 votes.

Data from Facebook shows that Noormohamed spent $13,541 advertising on the social media platform between June 27 and Sept. 24.

Meanwhile Appadurai spent $6,137 on Facebook ads in the same time period.

Conservative candidate Kailin Che came in third with 26.8 per cent of the vote, and Facebook’s records show she spent $0 advertising for her campaign on the platform.

Official Elections Canada reports, which include all campaign spending, have not yet been released.

While differences in spending on Facebook ads may provide clues about the money a candidate had access to, they are not a definitive reflection of the total resources (financial donations, in-kind donations, volunteer support, or party leader support) that each candidate had at their disposal. Furthermore, the disparities on Facebook ad spending could merely signal a difference in campaign strategy.

The race between Noormohamed and Appadurai was so tight that the CTV News Decision Desk wasn’t able to call a winner until two days after the election.

In another tight race – Richmond Centre, where the Liberals unseated the Conservative Party’s Alice Wong – the spending on Facebook ads was also disparate. Liberal candidate Wilson Miao won with 39.3 per cent of the vote, and spent $1,845 between June 27 and Sept. 24, while Wong, who captured 37.1 per cent of votes, spent $721 in the same time period, according to Facebook.