They asked about Quebec sovereignty, aid to Africa and seals.
And Stephen Harper had answers for everything. Eventually.
The Prime Minister was on YouTube Tuesday night in an effort to talk directly with voters and to convince skeptics that he isn't really a middle-aged guy who Doesn't Get It.
Mr. Harper fielded questions culled by Google, which owns YouTube, from about 1,800 written and video submissions, which were then pitched to him by a moderator.
The range of topics was broad, and some of the questions were tough. One contributor described the Conservative government's child-care policies as “an insult to any family that actually relies on it.” But Mr. Harper held his ground, arguing that his government preferred to maximize parental choice rather than subsidize daycare spaces.
Sadly, Google chose not to air the video from “igebadia,” who urged public funding for erectile dysfunction medicines.
“Our wives would be happier,” he observed. “Maybe we wouldn't need to fight so many wars.”
The 40-minute forum was supposed to have been posted at 7 p.m. Eastern time, but didn't make it onto the web until well after 8. There was no immediate explanation for the delay.
Mr. Harper is the second head of government to answer questions on the popular social networking site. U.S. President Barack Obama did the same after January's State of the Union Address.
Tuesday night's forum was hosted by Google's chief financial officer, Patrick Pichette, who is from Montreal. The session was pre-recorded but unedited.
Dimitri Soudas, Mr. Harper's press secretary, said officials from Google, which owns the site, approached with the offer about a month ago.
“It didn't take us long to say, ‘this is great,' ” he said Tuesday. Indeed it is, if you're a politician.
Political leaders have always searched for ways to get their message directly to voters, unfiltered by journalists. Mr. Harper has a Facebook page and someone tweets on his behalf.
Mr. Obama's YouTube appearance has generated more than 870,000 views to date. In Mr. Harper's case, 5,129 people asked 1,794 questions, and cast 169,842 votes.
The most popular questions concerned the legalization of marijuana. No, this is not a hot topic that the pollsters are missing. The pro-pot crowd gamed the system by asking many questions and encouraging their allies to vote for them. Happens every time, on both sides of the border.
Nonetheless, Mr. Harper took the question on, with some degree of passion.
“Ben and Rachel [the Harpers' two children] are now getting pretty close to 14 and 11,” he said, and “this is the last thing I want to see for my kids or anyone else's children.
“...The reason drugs are illegal is because they are bad,” he went on. “And even if these things were legalized, I can predict with a lot of confidence that these would never be respectable businesses run by respectable people.”
As legacy media – the new past-tense-laden term for newspapers, magazines and network television – struggle to retain readers and viewers, the role of social media in politics becomes increasingly intriguing.
Are they driving votes, influencing popular opinion, changing political brands?
“We don't know yet,” said Suanne Kelman, who teaches journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto.
While politicians use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to circumvent the inconvenient filter of journalists, these new media are primarily used by the young, who show little interest in politics in general, and Conservatives in particular.
“Will these people be tuning in to watch Stephen Harper deliver a message?” Prof. Kelman asks.
One suspects the question is rhetorical.
