EDMONTON – Federal foreign affairs minister John Baird announced a new @Canada Twitter handle Wednesday and Canadians were quick to offer their feedback.
Baird introduced the new account during a foreign affairs, trade and development event where he talked about the importance of social media in diplomacy. He said the medium can be used to advance Canada’s foreign policy, trade and development objectives.
“Our diplomats are increasingly using social media to promote Canadian values and interests abroad,” Baird said. “We have expanded our digital presence enormously over the last year and are always looking for ideas on how to develop it further.”
The @Canada Twitter handle was created to help promote the country internationally by providing a “window for everything that makes Canada the best country in the world.”
“This new Twitter account will become the voice of Canada to the world on Twitter,” Baird said. “This is one more tool in our diplomatic tool kit as we promote Canada as a nation of strong values, rich culture, beautiful landscapes and a dynamic economy.”
Its first tweet was “.@Canada’s now on Twitter, eh!” which garnered some colourful responses online.
.@Canada Id like to discuss the benefits and logic of using Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. — Patrick Burke (@BurkieYCP) November 26, 2014
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