What Ottawa isn't hearing: Critical intelligence gaps in Canadian political decision-making and how ethnic media insights can inform better policy

​By Andrés Machalski, MIREMS Chair of the Board and Innovation Director

Introduction: Tuesday, January 7, 2025

As Canada steps into 2025, with yet another chapter in the ongoing political drama, marked by foreign interference in the form of tariffs and migration as well as political influence, a crucial intelligence gap threatens our ability to understand and respond to rapidly evolving social and economic changes. The answer may lie in an overlooked source: ethnic media.

The upcoming months bring unprecedented challenges for Canadian policymakers, as well as leaders in the public and private sectors. Mainstream media often provides a broad lens on political narratives, but ethnic media offers unique insights into how policies resonate within diverse communities. These localized perspectives can help decision-makers anticipate challenges and opportunities that remain invisible in traditional data sources.

Recent events demonstrate why this matters. Ethnic media provides a window into grassroots-level dynamics that mainstream sources often overlook. These insights are critical for understanding the nuanced realities of Canada’s diverse communities. Consider the following areas where this intelligence gap is most evident:

Housing policy
While official statistics track housing prices and vacancy rates, ethnic media sheds light on the lived realities behind the data. Reports from community outlets have highlighted informal housing networks, cultural barriers to accessing housing programs, and innovative solutions like cooperative housing models. These stories provide a more complete picture of housing challenges and opportunities across Canada.

Labor market adaptation
Ethnic media often details how immigrant communities navigate labor market barriers, such as credential recognition challenges or sectoral shortages. Stories of entrepreneurial responses and informal support networks demonstrate the resilience of communities and highlight areas where policy adjustments could improve labor market integration.

It seems clear from the examples above that trade policy affects communities differently; immigration changes impact labor market dynamics and housing issues manifest uniquely across communities.

Social cohesion
Community tensions and policy misalignments often surface first in ethnic media. These early signals can help policymakers address unintended consequences and support social cohesion. Ethnic media also documents how different communities experience policies differently, offering insights that can inform more inclusive policymaking.

Why does this matter now more than ever? In an increasingly complex political and economic landscape, traditional polling and mainstream media often fail to capture the nuanced perspectives of Canada’s diverse communities. Ethnic media fills this gap, providing early warnings of emerging challenges and opportunities.

Foreign policy impacts directly affect Canadian ethnic communities in very different ways than the mainstream. This is the reality of diverse media voices.
 
What are some concrete recommendations? Obviously, the key is to inform policy development and resulting communications with community-level insights; identify implementation challenges early; track foreign influence attempts, and above all support evidence-based decision making using actionable ethnic media intelligence.

The cost of missing these insights far exceeds the investment in understanding them. As Canada navigates complex domestic and international challenges, better intelligence leads to better policy outcomes.

All of this represents an opportunity for better governance.

At MIREMS - Multilingual International Research and Ethnic Media Services our mission is to help that opportunity. We engage in daily, systematic monitoring of 600+ multilingual sources in Canada as well as hundreds more abroad, which provides early warning of community-level economic shifts; insight into policy implementation challenges, further understanding of cross-border family and business dynamics and crucially help detection of foreign influence attempts in Canadian communities beyond the much-publicized foreign interference in parliamentary politics.

Would you like to find out how this intelligence could support your specific mandate or concerns?
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Please read the next installment in this four-part kick off to our 2025 blog series. Tomorrow, we'll explore how this intelligence gap particularly affects our immigration system, revealing patterns and adaptations that official data often misses.

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