OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper is turning to YouTube to respond to last week's throne speech in a bid to get his message out to Canadians "unfiltered" by the national media.

"Social media is changing the way Canadians interact with politicians," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement Wednesday. "It allows Canadians to have unfiltered and immediate access to information. Livestreaming complements our government's current use of social media."

Harper's response to the throne speech will be livestreamed Thursday to the popular video-sharing website, where he will be going head to head with thousands of videos, showing everything from brides falling into pools to bloopers uttered by former U.S. president George W. Bush.

"Canadians, especially younger Canadians, are no longer getting their news from just television, radio and print media. They are turning to new media in increasing numbers," the PMO said.

One analyst noted that politicians have often looked for ways to go around the national media.

"People are trying lots of new ideas and new technologies but to me this doesn't sound like a winner," said Christopher Waddell, associate professor and director of the Carleton school of journalism.

Harper will follow up his viral performance with another YouTube appearance Tuesday at 7 p.m. where he will answer questions from viewers. The questions must be submitted by Sunday at 1 p.m.

The throne speech was delivered a day before the Harper government tabled its federal budget.

The House of Commons voted in principle Wednesday to support the federal budget 142-132. All three opposition parties opposed the motion, but the Liberals made sure enough of their MPs stayed away to avoid toppling the minority Conservative government.





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