In Cyber Threats to Canadian Democracy, Garnett and Pal take on the urgent task of analyzing the impact of emerging technological innovation(s) on Canadian electoral politics. In this four-part volume, comprised of nine chapters, the authors provide an interdisciplinary examination of various forms and methods by which contemporary technological advancements (that is, electronic voting, data collection, deep fakes, and so forth) complicate existing threats to democracy whilst also generating new threats to electoral integrity.

The volume takes a comparative approach to its study of cyber threats to democracy by reflecting on recent cyber threats to the United States and more broadly the democratic processes of the Global North. The volume brings into question techno-utopianism, with a focus on elections as the primary marker of democracy. Another overarching theme across the chapters is that of the securitization of democracy and the electoral process through the formation of special task forces and the involvement of national intelligence bodies. The volume must be appreciated for its deliberate choice in elevating interdisciplinary authorship and methods to provide a multipronged examination by bridging perspectives from the fields of law, political science, communications, computer science and public policy practitioners.

The key contributions made in this volume are as follows: 1) Whether they are from foreign or domestic actors, online through social media platforms or through data breaches of voter's personal information, threats are multidirectional; 2) Policy must keep pace with technological advancement whilst also ensuring that electoral processes are not subject to constant amendments; 3) Issues of mis- and disinformation remain complex and entangled with questions of freedom of expression. However, preventative measures such as a “Digital Right of Reply” could aid political actors and states to take corrective action to false information and keep the public informed (285). Such measures could be enforceable and fruitful if there were international collaboration to support implementation; 4) Cyber threats are a social issue not just a technological one, stressing that private social media platforms cannot be left to deter misinformation or ensure equal and just iterations of public messaging; and 5) The adoption of technological advancements, such as electronic voting and the convenience this offers, may come at the cost of cyber and electoral security. Voters and policy makers alike must strike a balance between the desire to adopt new technology and the imperative to ensure democratic processes remain secure.

While the volume provides an in-depth analysis of the gaps in the Canadian Elections Act regarding digital political ads, and the threats of “micro-targeting” of voters via social media platforms, it would be strengthened by critically highlighting and bringing to the fore how social media enables voters to become a consumer base with their data and activity purchasable for marketing. Especially useful in this regard would have been making explicit how the convergence of the private sector (that is, social media enterprises and their platforms) and public processes of elections, political parties and their online presence, and other voting initiatives generates an unregulated extension of the public square. Although the volume maintains its position that the un- and underregulated nature of voting technologies and procedures make electoral processes susceptible to a wide array of security concerns, it would benefit from mentioning the differing aims of the public electoral system and the private industry that produces voting technologies. The convergence between the two spheres presents an issue of regulatory limits and a difference in operational principles, principles which the volume appropriately complicates as running parallel to an unregulated space (with reference to online spaces).

Overall, the volume makes an important contribution to the study of cyber and technological threats to democracy and democratic processes in Canada. The editors and contributors exemplify the multidirectional nature of cyber threats and the urgency with which scholars and policy makers must also take cross-disciplinary and collaborative approaches to emerging cyber threats to Canadian democracy. The volume's key strength and impact is in its adoption of multidisciplinary methodologies, from content analysis to qualitative interviews, doctrinal analysis and surveys, this volume acts as a primer for political scientists and scholars at large interested in conducting cross disciplinary research on emerging technologies and their social, economic and political implications.