The Capital Regional District (CRD) has announced they will cease activity and discontinue their account on social media platform, X—formerly known as Twitter.
This move to boycott the platform will be effective immediately, as of Thursday, April 10th.
According to the CRD, this decision was made after careful consideration of the platform’s evolving policies that do not align with the CRD’s commitment to maintaining a safe and inclusive online presence.
“The decision to discontinue the use of X reflects our commitment to ensuring reliable and effective communication with our community,” said CRD Board Chair Cliff McNeil-Smith.
“We believe we can better serve our residents through more dependable channels and encourage everyone to subscribe to our email notifications to stay updated with the latest news, alerts, and public notices.”
The CRD says that the decrease in reliability and reduced engagement on X have pushed them to use other social media platforms to communicate important messaging to the residents of Greater Victoria.
Going forward, they will be working to enhance their presence on other social media platforms and improve communication through direct notices and updates on the CRD webpage.
Additionally, they will be pushing for residents of the capital region to sign up for email subscriptions for matters they wish to stay informed on.
This move to leave X echoes that of numerous municipalities throughout Vancouver Island and BC as a whole.
Parksville, View Royal and North Vancouver are among the municipalities that have stopped using X, while others are in the process of evaluating their social media usage, such as Victoria and Metro Vancouver.
In February, the Supreme Court of Canada even decided to leave X.
X is owned by Elon Musk, an oligarch who has been in the spotlight in international news for his new role as the United States government’s head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In that role he has been responsible for mass firings of approximately 280,000 American federal workers and contractors across 27 agencies.
