The verdict of the election is here. So what is going to happen to the future of digital policy in Canada?

The past year has been a rollercoaster on the digital rights front. But together, the OpenMedia community has achieved a lot. Here’s an overview of our wins and what’s on the horizon.

“My Political Data” empowers citizens to exercise rights to their personal information

The winner of this election will determine whether Canada’s telecom oligopoly continues to rule or makes way for new competitors and lower prices.

What happened to the Liberals' promise to reform the infamous, anti-terror legislation Bill C-51 and where do we go next?

OpenMedia welcomes the plan, and the critical attention to issue of Internet affordability in Canada. 

Every year, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) holds an election that can have significant impact on the future of the web. Learn more here.

The ongoing work of Professors Kent Roach and Craig Forcese on C-51 provides the most exhaustive analysis of the bill and is a must-read for anyone concerned with the issue. Article by Kent Roach and Craig Forcese for the National Post Security issues are a campaign issue — at least we think they are. To date, little has actually been said on the topic, and what has been said amounts to the parties doubling down on entrenched and vague (even symbolic) positions.

It’s election time! And your OpenMedia team has been working very hard to make sure Canadians have a direct and easy way to demand candidates from all parties speak up for the Internet we love and deserve. That’s why we’ve launched a handy tool for you to tell your candidates to become a pro-Internet leader and support our action plan crowdsourced by more than 250,000 Canadians. And guess what? It’s working! Yesterday morning, Green Party leader Elizabeth May was the first party leader to endorse our pro-Internet action plan. And for the past 24 hours, we’ve been hearing from candidates all across the country, an incredible 102 of whom have already declared themselves pro-Internet candidates! Check out this wonderful letter we received from Mark Bigland-Pritchard, a Green Party candidate for the Saskatoon-Grasswood riding:

Conservatives offered a deal with the National Firearms Association to quiet C-51 dissent, and then broke their promise.  Article by Laura Payton for Maclean's The president of the National Firearms Association says the Conservative government offered to make changes to its gun licensing bill if the NFA held its fire on the controversial bill C-51, then reneged on the agreement.

Check out this amazing coverage of our pro-Internet election plan on The Georgia Straight! The Internet is something we shouldn’t take for granted. We should take action to have our democratic rights as citizens, to make sure it stays open, accessible and free for everyone. This election, vote for the Internet! OurDigitalFuture.ca Article by Stephen Hui for the Georgia Straight  Stephen Harper’s Conservative government represents a “lost 10 years” for the Internet in Canada, according to a digital-rights advocate.

Do we really want to drive our local businesses out of town, by failing to provide the digital infrastructure, security and privacy safeguards that they need to operate in a global market? Our own Laura Tribe analyzes the importance of our digital future in the upcoming election. How do you think parties are faring in on these issues? Let us know in the comments below, your feedback will be used to inform how we rate parties.  This article was originally published at Rabble.ca This election, Canadians can't afford to be caught up in the soundbites, quibbles and petty pandering that our politicians are increasingly levelling at each other. Trudeau's hair? Mulcair's smile? Harper's suit?

So you’re out of town or too busy on election day, Oct. 19th. Or perhaps you made up your mind long before debate season. Well here’s some good news: you can vote right now! Although not everyone knows about early voting, it is a legal option that every Canadian can take advantage of. Voting doesn’t have to be a hassle just because the Fair Elections Act changed some rules of the game, and advanced voting makes things even simpler. But first things first: find out if you’re registered to vote. There’s a good chance you are, but finding out takes only about a minute. Just go to ereg.elections.ca and press Start. If you’re not registered already, you can do so at the same link, or by visiting or contacting by mail your local Elections Canada office. This is a much easier and faster way to register, just make sure you do it before the deadline on Oct. 13th.

Last week, one of Canada’s Big Telecom giants announced a controversial new scheme that will give them more power to control how you use the Internet on your mobile devices – and, if we don’t speak up, the Big Three will soon follow suit. Videotron wants the power to hand-choose which mobile streaming apps and services are more expensive than others. How are they doing this? By bundling them into outdated Cable-TV-style packages for mobile phone users. As a result, they’re giving unfair advantage to the services they decide are “worthy” of our attention and discriminating against others – an anti-user practice that positions them as gatekeepers of our mobile networks, and violates Canada’s open Internet (AKA: Net Neutrality) rules.

Most Canadians do not want to give up their privacy rights. This election, will you vote for online privacy? Pledge your vote at OurDigitalFuture.ca Article by Kevin Grandia for Common Sense Canadian  While you are out this weekend enjoying the last days of summer on the beach and the RCMP come by to check whether your cooler is full of (gasp) beer or wine, you have every right to tell them (I would suggest politely) that no, they cannot look in your cooler.

The government's rural broadband strategy falls way short of our digital platform and here's why. We need to fight back by pledging to vote now at OurDigitalFuture.ca Article by Nora Loreto for Rabble.ca The 2015 federal election promises to be an ugly fight, with a lot of half-truths and fact twisting. This has been the tone set by the Harper government so far, and it shows no sign of changing course. Luckily, rabble.ca together with our allies will be pulling together real numbers and evidence to refute the mistruths and fact check the election campaign.

The Internet has changed Canadian politics. Issues like C-51 simply don't go away. This election is our best chance to repeal C-51, pledge your vote at OurDigitalFuture.ca Article by Trevor Pott for The Register Comment As Canadians settle in for the longest general election campaign since 1867, some uncomfortable incidents that had been ignored by commercial media outlets are gaining new exposure.

Huge numbers of conservatives are speaking out against reckless Bill C-51. Despite Harper's Conservatives' efforts to keep the gun lobby in their camp, the sector warns about the dangerous power-grab this legislation gives the security sector, threatening Canadians’ privacy rights. Let's keep fighting until we Kill C-51 --> KillC51.ca  Article by Claire Wahlen

ICYMI: The Harper government changed the election rules so it can continue negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Where do you stand? Speak out now at StoptheSecrecy.net/Canada Article by Jordan Pearson for Motherboard

Yes, it’s just about that time again: election season! Rumours speculate that the federal election may be called as early as this Sunday. And if the OpenMedia community (alongside a broad-based coalition of civil society organizations, businesses, and empassioned Internet users across the country), has anything to do with it — Bill C-51 and privacy will be the key issues we have our politicians talking about this fall. But before we head into what is sure to be an exciting election season, we wanted to take a look back on just how far we've come. Right from the start, the OpenMedia community has been leading the way in the fight against C-51. The way that this campaign has grown and escalated over the past few months is beyond what we had ever imagined.

Amidst the final stages of the TPP talks in Hawaii, the government is hoping to reach an agreement before the election campaign kickoff expected to start on Sunday. It's never been more important to send a message to the trade ministers and tell them to say NO to TPP. Send your message now at StoptheSecrecy.net  Article by the Canadian Press for the Globe and Mail

Less than 100 days away from the election, this debate is already having a major impact on the opinion polls - and any party leader who wants to be the next PM had better get onside with what Canadians want. Speak out now to get C-51 repealed at KillC51.ca Article by Steve Sullivan for iPolitics