Liberals debate digital policy resolutions at convention

The Liberal Party will debate and vote on four digital policy resolutions at its biennial national convention this week in Montreal. Along with 20 other resolutions, party members will debate an artificial intelligence (AI) governance and transparency act, a resolution to combat disinformation and misinformation online, and two resolutions which propose restricting online access for children under 16 for AI chatbots and social media, respectively. The resolutions are proposed by various sub-groups within the party establishment and reflect current hot topics among Liberal grassroots members., Many identified issues are also areas that have yet to see significant action from Ottawa. But even if the policy resolutions pass this week, they are not likely to influence the current government’s approach to digital policy, according to multiple Liberal strategists, who also suggest there is no guarantee the membership’s votes will influence a future Liberal government. In an interview with The Wire Report, John O’Leary, a vice president at Crestview Strategy, said resolutions passed at conventions are typically forward looking and used by the party to gather insight into what issues are important to its members when creating an election platform. Ultimately, he added, it comes down to the leader of the party to decide if the policies will be used in the next election platform. “It’s not automatic that anything that would emerge from a party resolution like this would automatically find its way into the next campaign . . . or, frankly, into government policy that may be being worked on right now,” said O’Leary, a former ministerial staffer in Justin Trudeau’s government. Sometimes, policies passed at conventions are also used to inform parties on a longer term basis, according to Muhammad Ali, a veteran Liberal operative.The next federal election could come and go without the party implementing any policies that pass at the convention this week, but they could inform future platforms many years from now. The government can also take resolutions that are passed and tweak them to fit the leader’s vision for the party, Ali, also a vice president at Crestview, told The Wire Report. “It’s not like what is passed would be in the policy,” he said. “But it can be informative of future ideas and future direction that could take place.” Some of the digital policy resolutions that will be debated are very detailed, like the resolution to protect children and teens from social media harms. The resolution is sponsored by the Quebec branch and national caucus, and outlines seven recommendations, including a ban on social media for kids under 16, creating a digital safety body, and creating a regulatory framework requiring platforms to act in accordance with certain safety standards. The AI transparency act resolution, sponsored by Manitoba and the National Women’s Liberal Commission, calls for the government to implement an AI act modeled off the European Union’s AI act. The resolution outlines six suggestions for the act, including risk-based regulation, establishing protections including enforcing antitrust and limiting government AI use, and full implementation by 2028. The combatting disinformation and misinformation resolution, on the other hand, does not suggest any direct policy action. Instead, it recommends the government establish a non-partisan panel of inquiry to collect advice from experts who are studying the threat disinformation and misinformation poses to democracy. The resolution, sponsored by Saskatchewan, suggests the experts "report their findings and recommendations to the Government regarding options and best practices that could be implemented to protect our democracy.” The restricting access to AI chatbots for children and teens resolution, also sponsored by Quebec, recommends a ban on AI chatbots and other “potentially harmful” AI interactions for children under 16 with an exception for AI chatbots used for customer service by “legitimate businesses supporting customers.” “The resolutions reflect on conversations that are happening across Canada and in places around the world,” O’Leary said. “I think it makes sense that the members of the Liberal Party have set those aside as ones to be talking about here as well.” Age related social media bans are on the rise around the world. Australia adopted a ban for children under 16 in December, whereas other countries including the U.K., Spain, Greece, and France have also announced plans to move towards age-related bans. Even though the digital policy resolutions reflect discussions happening across the country, Ali said it is hard to guess whether they will pass during the convention. He said, as the resolutions are debated, they could be amended and passed in new forms. He also said the more specific a resolution is, the more it may divide voter opinion. “Though, when they get to the national floor, there is a greater chance that they could get passed, just because they’ve been filtered through the system,” he said. “I could see some of these passing for sure, just because there is some very natural conversation on some of these,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister and the government have been talking about social media harms and AI for a while. Although the resolutions are typically used to inform future election platforms, there is a chance that strong support for advancing digital policy would put some pressure on the government to continue its work towards modernizing the digital regulatory environment. Or, the support could provide the government with the confidence to give the green light to policies it is currently debating within cabinet. “If there’s an overwhelming support on a number of digital policy areas, then it doesn’t go unnoticed,” Ali said. The Liberal convention runs from April 9 to 11. mcollins@thewirereport.ca

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Liberals debate digital policy resolutions at convention

Regulatory | By Maria Collins |April 10, 2026

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By Maria Collins
|April 10, 2026