Google searches for Del Duca skyrocket on debate day

Google searches for Steven Del Duca skyrocketed on debate night as some voters were introduced to the "new" Liberal Party leader for the first time.

Del Duca took the reigns of the Liberal Party in March 2020, just as the pandemic hit, and prior to the election campaign he had also lost his seat in the riding of Vaughan. Both of these factors contributed to a lack of exposure ahead of the writ being drawn.

Google searches for Del Duca have sat relatively low in comparison to other party leaders, in particular Progressive Conservative Doug Ford who has consistently been searched more often than the others.

But around 7 p.m. on Monday, Google Trends shows the number of people searching his name spiked.

"I think Steven Del Duca was able to at least showcase a little bit of himself," Muhammad Ali, a senior consultant for Crestview Strategy, said of debate night. "I think he had the highest Google Search rate during the debate, just kind of reminiscent of the fact that not many voters know who he is."

• Who is Steven Del Duca? Read the leader profile here

All party leaders saw a jump in google searches on the night of the debate, with Ford and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath coming second, followed by Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

Over the last few days more people have also been searching for "Ontario election."