Canada’s Response to Online Harms Must Include Municipalities

Publication Date:

10/11/2026

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— 4 minutes reading time

The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Strong Cities Network Management Unit, Strong Cities members or partners.

Canada’s proposed Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34), if passed, would introduce new safety and transparency obligations for regulated social media and AI chatbot services.

But harassment, bullying, hate and threats do not remain confined to screens. They affect people’s safety and wellbeing and can deepen mistrust and division. For a 15-year-old being targeted online, the consequences may follow them into school, friendships and everyday life. Where can they turn for help?

Survey by The Dais As the level of government closest to people’s everyday lives, municipalities are often well placed to bring their own services and trusted community partners, such as libraries and schools, together. These local institutions, which generally have high levels of community trust, can help residents understand what protections are available, how to make a complaint and where to find support. Yet municipalities are often left out of policy debates about how to protect Canadians online.

Municipal governments do not have the authority to regulate online platforms and generally lack the power to sanction those responsible for illegal online content. But, as Strong Cities has seen first-hand through its engagement with more than 60 municipalities across Canada, local governments have important contributions to make to addressing these harms, including by revealing patterns of harm and gaps in support to their residents that platform or law enforcement data may miss.

Platform data and online research can help identify what content is circulating and where. However, they don’t always show how those interactions affect young people’s relationships or sense of safety at school and in their communities. This gap was identified by municipalities participating in Strong Cities Prevention Academy on countering online harms in British Columbia. They shared how harms affecting young people can go unnoticed by adults in private chats and gaming spaces. Some also raised concerns that certain harmful behaviours had become normalised, making them harder for young people to recognise.

Addressing this gap matters for Bill C-34’s proposed duty to protect children. Regulated services would have to build in safeguards set out in regulations and explain in their digital safety plans how they assess whether those safeguards work. Municipalities can bring together evidence from schools and youth services to help federal decision-makers shape the safeguards and judge whether they address risks that young people may not recognise or report.

Child safety is one example. Municipal input can inform the federal approach to online safety at three stages:

First, seek municipal input as Parliament considers the bill. Municipalities and community partners can document recurring harms, differences across communities and gaps in support for people affected by online hate. Written submissions, committee testimony and engagement with parliamentarians, parliamentary committees and federal departments can help ensure that the legislation reflects what residents and frontline services encounter in practice.

Next, connect national tools with local prevention systems. If Bill C-34 is enacted, residents and practitioners will need clear information about user protections, complaints, platform risks and the mandate of the proposed Digital Safety Commission. Municipalities can map local roles and gaps, coordinate services, help translate federal guidance into practical, accessible action and facilitate two-way information sharing with the regulator.

Finally, create a regular channel for municipal feedback once the framework is in place. Through recurring consultations and roundtables, municipalities can share what they’re seeing locally. The Digital Safety Commission could use that evidence to assess whether existing safeguards are keeping pace with how harms are evolving and where its guidance or the rules may need to change.

At each stage, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, provincial municipal associations and the Strong Cities Network can help identify patterns across communities, bring shared priorities to federal decision-makers and pass new guidance back to local practitioners.

International experience reinforces the point. A recent Strong Cities webinar explored international approaches to online safety regulation, highlighting the importance of ensuring that regulatory protections, reporting mechanisms and user safeguards are accessible to communities. In the UK, for example, the regulator Ofcom draws on evidence from civil society, media and law enforcement to assess platform safety measures, while its super-complaints regime gives eligible organisations a route to raise systemic concerns. A similar approach in Canada could help federal regulators see when problems reported in individual communities point to a wider gap in platform safeguards.

Act now, before the framework is final

Municipal leaders do not need to wait. They can map where online harms already surface in local communities, identify trusted institutions that could communicate new protections, collect examples of recurring harms and service gaps and coordinate common messages through municipal networks.

The federal government can set obligations for platforms. Municipalities and trusted local institutions can make those protections visible, usable and responsive to the communities they are intended to serve. Whatever the outcome of Bill C-34, Canada needs to build this national-local partnership, and that work should start now.

Authors

Eunhye Lee is a Programme Manager at the Strong Cities Network, leading its Prevention Academy for BC Municipalities on Countering Online Harms

Eric Rosand is the Global Chair of the Strong Cities Network

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Canada’s Response to Online Harms Must Include Municipalities

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