TORONTO – The federal Liberals will elect a new leader in April and a number of candidates are taking to social media to drum up as much support as possible before convention day.

One way has been to hold “Ask Me Anything” or “AMA” sessions on the popular social news website Reddit.

The AMA platform allows users to interact directly with a person of note by asking questions in real-time.

Past participants have included U.S. President Barack Obama, Larry King, celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Korean rapper PSY.

In the last couple of months, five Liberal leadership candidates have taken part including Deborah Coyne, Martha Hall Findlay, George Takach, Marc Garneau and on Tuesday, Joyce Murray.

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Topics discussed on the website have ranged from the legalization of marijuana, electoral reform, and universal childcare.

One Reddit user asked Findlay if she would be willing to remove barriers to foreign telecommunications companies providing services in Canada.

“There are two parts to telecom — the content, and the pipes, namely the airwaves, the cabling, the cell towers — the transmission infrastructure,” Findlay wrote. “As far as the ‘piping’ is concerned, the actually transmission part, I’m open to loosening foreign ownership. When it comes to content, I’d like to see us promoting Canadian effort and talent.”

Former Liberal leader Stephane Dion was also talked about with concerns surrounding his missteps and whether others could avoid making the same mistakes.

“On a carbon tax specifically, I agree that Dion’s green shift was too complex and tried to do too much in other areas, which made it difficult to explain and to sell,” Coyne wrote. “Both environmentalists and the energy sector agree though that a carbon tax is the most effective and efficient way of shifting consumption away from fossil fuels and protecting our environment and our prosperity.”

Another hot button issue discussed in the AMA sessions was youth unemployment.

“Sweden today earns 30 % of its GDP growth from tech and digital; Canada earns 10 %,” wrote Takach. “If we closed that gap, we could make a real dent in youth unemployment/underemployment, which collectively stands at 26 %. And we need to encourage entrepreneurship in the schools, from the early grades. As PH I want to be awarding the “Canadian Innovation Awards” to kids of all ages.”

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Many candidates, including Garneau, were asked why they would make the best Liberal leader.

“I will put a relentless focus on the economy – a knowledge economy specifically,” wrote Garneau. “I have advocated the elimination of barriers to competition in wireless services and outlined how I would tackle youth unemployment.”

Murray was asked specifically how she would foster cooperation between the other political parties in parliament.

“I believe that it takes confidence, courage, and trust in Liberal values and Liberals to find a way to cooperate with other parties for the good of all Canadians,” wrote Murray. “For me, it’s about putting #CountryFirst.”

Of course, not all questions were serious in nature with many touching on lighter issues.

One area of great concern from Reddit members stems from whether one would “rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?”

This query was posed to all the candidates with varying responses.

Deborah Coyne: “Had to pop back in to answer this one. I believe a vibrant and dynamic opposition is important to our democracy, so while it may seem the tougher road I’ll take on the 100 duck-sized horses. And I’ll slay them all. :)”

Martha Hall Findlay: “Have to answer this one…. I have three children. They came less than 2 years apart each. Which means that at one time I had three kids under 5. Bless my kids (now 27, 29, 31) but I can assure you that being outnumbered by small things is a killer.”

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George Takach: “Theres a saying, “Death by a thousand cuts”. Im thinkin’ theres also “death by a hundred horse bites”. So, Ill take the big duck; who at that size I have to believe would be pretty slow moving (like a super sized waddle….).”

Marc Garneau: “On Earth I’m ready to kick 100 duck-sized horses asses, but in space I’d slay a horse-sized duck with my trusty Canadarm.”

Joyce Murray: “Well, my first thought is, do we have to fight? What are the demands of this tiny horse army? What does this over-sized duck want? Maybe we can find some common ground and cooperate on our shared problems. I saw what happened to Romney when he tried to take on Big Bird, but still I’d rather take on the horse-sized duck. I was British Columbia’s Minister of Water, Land, and Air Protection. That duck doesn’t have a chance.”

There’s no indication yet if the other four Liberal leadership candidates will conduct Reddit AMAs.

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