The Supply of, and Demand for, Expressions of Mistrust Among Canadian Federal MPs

Abstract

Trust, in others and in institutions, is a crucial barometer of democratic health. Intensifying mistrust, moreover, has been identified as offering fertile ground to populist movements. This paper investigates the supply of-as well as the public demand for-mistrust narratives among Canadian politicians using a database of original tweets posted in English by federal MPs between 2021 and 2025. Following a dictionary-based approach, we develop a highfrequency mistrust indicator, which we then apply to examine quantitative trends and rhetorical shifts in articulations of mistrust. Our findings reveal a growth in the supply of mistrust narratives among Canadian MPs, which is most pronounced within the Conservative Party of Canada. We further find that tweets expressing mistrust are in especially high demand among right-wing audiences, particularly since the Freedom Convoy. We interpret these findings as evidencing the role of mistrust narratives in advancing (particularly right-wing) populist political projects.

Keywords: Political Mistrust, Populism, X (Twitter), Canadian Politics, Democratic Institutions