Leaders' debate sends parties' social media into overdrive

Social media has been a hotbed for political discourse throughout thefederal election campaign, with all three major parties having an active presence onFacebookand Twitter. There was no exception to this trend during the Globe and Mail leaders' debate.

The day started on social media with Liberal Leader JustinTrudeauposting a video on Twitter of him canoeing.

"In a long campaign like this, you've got to find time for calm amid the action,"Trudeausays in the video. "Stay true. Shut out all of that noise. Recharge. And remember what you're fighting for."

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May hosted a pre-debate interview on Periscope from a Victoria, B.C., church. She also posted video responses on her Twitter account with the help of Twitter Canada.

The debate, hosted by the Globe and Mail, started with a panel of the newspaper's own staff offering their insights into the campaign and the upcoming debate. Many on Twitter lamented the slow start.

Minutes prior to the debate, the Conservatives posted two separate Vines to Twitter, attacking the NDP and the Liberals respectively.

All three parties posted material on Twitter during the debate, with some being more active than others. They alsoshared information onFacebook throughout the night.

According to Twitter Canada, Stephen Harper didn't have anyone tweet from his account, while Justin Trudeau's accounttweeted 58 times, Thomas Mulcair's account tweeted 27 times, and Elizabeth May's account tweeted 43 times.

The parties were also actively retweetingotherswith like-minded opinions.

During the debate, the hashtags #elxn42 and #GlobeDebate were trending on Twitter. Many commentedon the "haunted house" atmosphere of the debate backdrop.

Once the debate had concluded, the Liberals, the Greens, and the NDP took to Twitter in support of their respective candidates' performance.