Does Premier Scott Moe see your social media comments? A party insider gives her insights
Shannon Andrews was the chief of staff for the premier and now works as a consultant
When Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe congratulated Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney on winning the most recent federal election, disgruntled comments over another Liberal win swiftly began rolling in on social media.
"Time to separate."
"Independence or 51st State is the only option left for us."
"The anger in the west is real."
Just how much attention are politicians paying to social media commentators and their viewpoints — and should that shape their policies? Moe's former chief-of-staff Shannon Andrews joined the latest episode of CBC's This Is Saskatchewan's podcast to dig into that question and shed light on how politicians like Moe use social media as a tool themselves.
The premier himself does have a small team managing his social media, according to Andrews, who now works with Upstream Strategy Group as a consultant. But she said Moe does have a lot of input over what's posted under his name.
"He views all of his posts prior to them going out," she said, adding he's also attuned to great community stories and shouting out Saskatchewan successes.
But if people are thinking that elected officials may see what they post in the comments section, she said they shouldn't hold their breath.
"He's also very busy, as most elected folks are. They don't have time to be sitting around on any of the platforms combing through all the comments."
There's also a need to take these online comments with a grain of salt, she said, noting social media is "loud," compared to conversations in the constituency office or on coffee row.
"You can't always verify who the source is, who it is that is making the post. And so in that respect, you have to kind of balance it off.… Sometimes you don't even know if they're coming from a person who lives in the province."
Some people, including the Official Opposition, have said the premier should speak out loudly against western separatist sentiments.
Regina Leader-Post political columnist Murray Mandryk said on This is Saskatchewan's Political Panel that entertaining this kind of sentiment does nothing to grow Moe's voter base.
"He needs to build support in that middle area, urban Saskatchewan," Mandryk said, adding that he feels Moe has been too cagey in scrums when asked about separatist fervour.
"His inability just to simply say, 'Yeah, I condemn those trying to break up my country,' that's an easy thing for a premier to say. He wouldn't say it."
So why isn't Moe more forceful in his comments? For Andrews, it's a matter of recognizing the level of anger there is in Western Canada over the federal government's handling of provincial jurisdiction and resource-driven economies.
"I think that sometimes the word separation gets chucked into this discussion and I don't want to see it downplay the real concerns and frustration that Western Canadians have," she said.
"They want to be a part of Canada, but they need to feel valued to feel that they're a part of Canada."
Andrews said she believes Moe's measured tone over the election of Prime Minister Mark Carney is genuine.
"As much as this might be hard to believe after this past decade — and to be sure, there were many, many difficult moments with the Liberal government and with former prime minister [Justin] Trudeau — I think he's sincere in this effort," she said.
At the same time, Andrews said people can expect Moe to continue his pattern of speaking out against federal government actions that hurt Saskatchewan interests.
Social media might be an easy way for voters to express their anger or kudos for politicians, but Andrews said that at the end of the day, a good old-fashioned phone call, email or visit to an MLA's office is the best way to connect with them.
"They can be so responsive, and to be fair, that's both sides of the House," she said, adding, "It might take a little bit of time, and there's a lot of calls coming in, [but] they'll get back to you."
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