By Jaime Watt

Six months ago Evan Solomon and I began thinking about bringing a new segment to Power&Politics – one that looks at how public affairs issues impact the agenda in Ottawa and the broader conversation Canadians are having from coast to coast.

A light bulb appeared as we reflected on how communications is evolving and the effect it is having on political advocacy. Thanks to social networks, geography is no longer a barrier. Citizens have the ability to engage in the public affairs discourse in a way they never have before. At the same time, these tools are allowing us to measure how these issues are resonating with ordinary Canadians.

Traditionally, the media decided what issues merit discussion on any given day and it was assumed that those were in fact the most important topics in the Canadian conversation.

With the rise of social media and new ways of measuring “klout” with the Canadian public, this dynamic has changed.

Political Traction looks at the common threads in the conversation happening in Ottawa and across the country. Navigator is monitoring a variety of mediums 24 hours a day, seven days a week to aggregate data on what is being talked about, where it’s being talked about, and who is talking about it. Using a standardized methodology, we’ve created a point-based system to weigh conversation on public affairs topics, and build a weekly profile of what’s being said.

Is Canada talking about the same issues as Ottawa – or is there a disconnect? Are the issues raised in Question Period penetrating the media and capturing the broader Canadian audience? Who’s gaining political traction and who is being sidelined?

These are the questions I hope to address each and every Monday evening at 5:35 PM on Power&Politics with Evan Solomon.

We’ll be sure to post clips from the show here on the Navigator Insights Blog in case you miss the live segment.

Reach out to me on Twitter to share your thoughts, ideas and feedback.

Jaime