OTTAWA–Canada’s three major federal political parties all purchase data on Canadians, a practice that is facing renewed questions in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Liberals, Conservatives and NDP confirmed they purchase data on Canadians from third-party vendors when contacted by the Star — although only the opposition Conservatives would reveal who they purchase that data from.

In addition, the three parties themselves collect information about Canadians from fundraising drives, newsletter sign-ups, and door-to-door canvassing.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with those practices, and no indication Canadian political parties are working with firms like Cambridge Analytica — the U.K.-based consulting firm accused of analyzing 50 million Facebook users’ data and selling their services to political campaigns.

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But the resulting scandal has renewed questions about how political parties collect, use and retain personal information about Canadians. And there are currently no laws — or virtually any restrictions, at all — on how parties play data politics.

The Star asked the three major parties detailed questions about what data they collect and where they get it. All parties start with a list, provided by Elections Canada, of eligible voters across the country. Parties can also use their own outreach — petitions, newsletters, door-to-door canvassing — to pad their databases.

According to the NDP’s interim national director, Melissa Bruno, the party collects data from donor and member lists, petitions, emails and even social media interaction. They also purchase “aggregate information” about Canadians, including publicly-listed telephone numbers, census data, and “other data providers” — although the party says information that could identify individual Canadians is absent from that data.

“While there might be a fashion of ‘big data’ and analytics in politics, the NDP believes that having meaningful conversations with Canadians is the best way to learn about their values, their motivations and their aspirations,” the party wrote in a statement.

The Conservatives, who were long thought to be at the forefront of so-called “micro-targeting” and data campaigning, were more explicit. Cory Hann, the party’s director of communications, said they only purchase data from one source: Canada411, the online listing of so-called “phonebook data” like names, addresses and telephone numbers.

“The only personal information we have is information voluntarily given to us or basic publicly available information,” Hann wrote in a statement.

“The party will always follow all rules, regulations, and laws just as we always have.”

The governing Liberals’ historic jump from third place party to majority government in 2015 was widely credited, in part, to the re-invention of their data politics game. In a statement, party spokesperson Braeden Caley would not say specifically if the party purchases data.

“Political parties work hard to identify, engage, and mobilize potential supporters with phone calls, outreach events, door-knocking, digital advertising, emails and more,” Caley wrote, adding that the party has developed its own privacy policy, available on its website.

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data from over 50 million Facebook profiles was secretly scraped and mined for voter insights, many Facebook users have decided to delete their accounts — but untangling yourself from a site like Facebook is not as easy as pressing “delete.” (The New York Times)

“The limited types of information that are occasionally purchased by the party to help reach and connect with more supporters could include sources like widely-available phone book information and Canada Post address validation, for example.”

Canadians are largely forced to take the parties at their word, however, because there are no rules when it comes to parties’ data operations. Federal political parties are exempt from privacy laws that the government and private sector organizations must follow.

In an interview with CBC this weekend, Liberal cabinet minister Scott Brison said the government was open to changing that — but wanted to consult with all political parties before taking any action.

“One of the things I want to do is sit down with members from all parties and work through a discussion on how we can strengthen these policies and develop a common approach,” Brison, the interim democratic institutions minister, said.

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“We have a responsibility to protect the personal data of Canadians and to defend the integrity of our electoral system … We are open to moving to strengthen the privacy regime that governs political parties.”

That discussion may happen sooner — and more publicly — than the government expects. The House of Commons ethics committee is currently planning a study into how political parties employ data-driven campaigning. While the committee has not committed to a schedule for those hearings, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said a study could come as early as this fall.

“Politics depends upon trust in the democratic system, so if voters are distrustful of parties, or further distrustful, I think parties and certainly politicians like myself are certainly worried about that,” Erskine-Smith said in a recent interview.

“I think parties would say there should be a rules-based framework for collecting information, and sharing information, and using information fairly within the purposes which Canadians would expect with a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

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