In the aftermath of recent federal elections in both Australia and Canada, the progressive left has suffered a dramatic and humbling defeat. The Australian Greens and Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), once seen as influential voices for climate action and social justice, were soundly rebuked at the ballot box. Most strikingly, both parties’ leaders lost their own seats, a bitter irony reminiscent of Shakespearean tragedy, where ambition and over-confidence lead to a catastrophic downfall.
Australia’s Greens faced a humiliating setback and a bruising reality check. Their leader, Adam Bandt, conceded defeat in his Melbourne electorate, a seat he had held for five consecutive elections spanning 15 years. The party had been so confident of Bandt’s victory—and wider electoral gains—that they barely campaigned on the ground in Melbourne. Labor’s candidate, Sarah Witty, was relatively unknown and underestimated. The Greens had ambitiously projected winning nine lower house seats, expecting to retain their four seats and pick up five more across metropolitan Melbourne, Brisbane, NSW, Perth, and Adelaide.
New Democrats built this country.
We have built the best of Canada.
And we aren’t going anywhere.
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) April 29, 2025
Similarly, in Canada, NDP endured a particularly severe blow, winning only seven seats—well short of the 12-seat threshold required to maintain official party status in the House of Commons. Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon confirmed this loss, a parliamentary rule that severely limits the party’s influence and resources moving forward.
A major factor was the defeat of longtime leader Jagmeet Singh, who came third in the newly redistributed Burnaby Central riding, ending his federal political career after nearly a decade at the helm.
Singh’s s-called widespread popularity on social media, bolstered by collaborations with well-known Canadian influencers such as Lilly Singh, Kardea Brown, and Jessica Wetz, who amplified his progressive messages, ultimately failed to translate into electoral success. Despite millions of followers engaging with his TikTok and Instagram content, this digital acclaim proved no substitute for resonating with voters facing inflation, housing shortages, and job insecurity.
The Greens’ campaign leaned heavily on social media influencers and activists such as climate advocate Brittany Higgins and TikTok star Taryn Brumfitt, but also enlisted popular figures like Abby Chatfield—who, along with another high-profile feminist influencer, Clementine Ford, used by the party, has since been engaged in a very public online spat, highlighting the fragmented and sometimes chaotic nature of influencer-driven political campaigns. While this strategy generated significant online buzz, it did not convert into the necessary votes.
On election night, two of the three Brisbane seats were lost, and the key battleground seats of Melbourne and Wills—seen as the Greens’ best chance for growth—were hanging by a thread. Ultimately, Bandt “fell just short” in Melbourne, conceding defeat without taking questions and urging the media to report climate change with greater seriousness, even as critics accused the Greens of insufficient environmental messaging during the campaign.
Both parties’ leaders losing their seats serves as a stark, almost Shakespearean symbol of political hubris. Like kings undone by their own hubris, they misread the signs, mistaking applause in the court of social media for the will of the people. Their heavy reliance on influencers and viral content created a performance theatre disconnected from the grounded, local concerns of voters. This over-confidence in digital influence came at the expense of grassroots engagement, door-knocking, and substantive policy discussion—elements critical to winning trust in diverse electorates.
Meanwhile, their centrist opponents concentrated on the unglamorous yet crucial issues of housing supply, cost-of-living pressures, and economic stability—approaching social media influencers with much greater caution. These messages, while less captivating online, resonated deeply with suburban and regional voters who felt the pinch in their daily lives. The Greens and NDP, by contrast, appeared tone-deaf to these realities, leaving a vacuum quickly filled by more pragmatic political forces.
This political downfall is a cautionary tale for progressive parties navigating the digital age. Social media can amplify voices but cannot replace the hard work of building coalitions, listening to communities, and crafting policies that address voters’ material needs. Until the Greens and the NDP realign their strategies—balancing online presence with authentic, on-the-ground connection—they risk becoming sidelined actors in their national stories, victims of their own digital illusions and misplaced confidence.
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