This initiative has ended.
This page is not updated anymore.
Connected Canada
The Connected Canada initiative examined what it meant to be a digital citizen in Canada today.
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Dubois and Dr. Florian Martin-Bariteau, the Connected Canada initiative unpacked citizenship in a connected Canada today and offered a research agenda for developing a deeper understanding of the ways Canadians use the Internet and engage in a digital media environment.
This interdisciplinary and multistakeholder was a Canada 150 initiative investigated digital civic participation and inclusion, the interaction of citizens and their political and democratic institutions, as well as the need to redesign legal frameworks to strengthen and build democratic institutions and to promote an inclusive society.
As Confederation turned 150, the Connected 150 conference brought together over two days leading experts in Internet culture and citizenship in the digital context, including academics, government officials, policy-makers, members of think tanks, members of the private sector, and civil society groups.
The conference helped draft a public research agenda for digital citizenship that set the foundation for strong institutions and good policy.
The conversation and findings were later expanded on in Citizenship in a Connected Canada: A Research and Policy Agenda (UOP, 2020), an interdisciplinary edited collection bringing together scholars, activists, and policy makers to build consensus around what a connected society means for Canada. The collection offers insight on the state of citizenship in a digital context in Canada and proposes a research and policy agenda for the way forward. The chapters also summarize and synthesize existing work for a Canadian policy audience.
Citizenry in a Digital Context
Dr. Elizabeth Dubois and Dr. Florian Martin-Bariteau discussed the conceptual framework and research agenda in “Citizens and their Political Institutions in a Digital Context” in Dutton, W.H. (ed.), A Research Agenda for Digital Politics. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2020.
The Connected Canada initiative was supported by a Canada 150 Connection Grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.