With an election having been held this past year, and another possibly in the New Year, we thought we would take the time to rank the federal political party websites of 2004.

In the end we didn't find just one overall winner - we found three!

The winning websites of 2004 were from the NDP, Conservative Party of Canada, and the Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. Each tied with a total score of 52 out of a maximum of 60 possible points. Not far behind were the websites of the Green Party, Bloc Québécois, and the Liberal Party.

Members of the Canadian Democratic Movement checked the websites in June during the elections, and again in December as a point of comparison. Sites were judged on six categories with a maximum score of ten points per category. The six categories were:


1) Overall look - Was the site pleasing to the eye? How was the overall layout? Did they use their own url? Did they make good use of images and text, and loading of content? Does it look professional or amateur?
2) Ease of use - Is information easy to find (membership, privacy policy, volunteer, party policies/platform, news)? Is there complete contact information? Is navigation straightforward? Is it easy to browse for non-technical users, and what about search functions?
3) Content - Is the content new or old? How much content and what types? Is the site available in French and English? Is there party information/history, candidate information, leader information, and is the content presented well, and is it easy to understand?
4) Party platform/policies - is it accessible and easy to find, is it complete, is it easy to understand, and is there any history behind the information or examples?
5) Usability - Are users feeling welcome, and is there the opportunity to participate? Are there local candidates pages or newsletters? Are there any dead links? Does content load in the same browser window or use pop-ups or redirects to outside web pages?
6) Load time - How quickly does each page load? This was tested on three types of Internet connection, and on two types of browser. (Internet Explorer and Mozilla)

Abolitionist Party of Canada
http://www.cyberclass.net/turmel/abprogs.htm

Looks very amateurish and not well kept. Whole site is only one page, but information on the party leader and the party platform are easy to find, and easy to read, though it is only in English. It is rather stale dated, as most of the content is very old, with some dating back to 1993. Not much here to keep one from coming back very often.

1) 5
2) 8
3) 3
4) 7
5) 3
6) 9

Final score: 35

Bloc Québécois
http://blocquebecois.org/

Very attractive home page, though it is only available in French. Information is easy to find, and there is lots of it. From a history of the party, to the extensive achieves, there is plenty of information for those wanting to know more about the Bloc. Navigating the site is easy, and with the site search we had no problem finding what we wanted. Candidates from the 2004 election each had their own page as well.

1) 9
2) 9
3) 7
4) 8
5) 8
6) 9

Final score: 50

Canadian Action Party
http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/Default2.asp

Welcome page immediately directs the user towards the language of their choice. Overall look is not bad, but the content is not very up to date, as it seems frozen at the 2004 general election. There is a fair amount of information on prior candidates, and finding information is not very difficult. We were surprised to find links to the other major political parties.

1) 7
2) 8
3) 6
4) 7
5) 7
6) 9

Final score: 44

Christian Heritage Party
http://www.chp.ca/

It is a quick loading and easy to navigate site. The content is updated regularly, and is in both English and French. We were able to find everything we were looking for, but the membership page was a bit of a mess. The information on it was clear and precise, but no printer friendly page, which is needed, as you cannot enrol through the website.

1) 8
2) 8
3) 8
4) 8
5) 7
6) 9

Final score: 48

Communist Party of Canada
http://www.communist-party.ca/

At first glance it is not a flashy in your face website, but it is full of content, and is easy to find what you may be looking for. Membership enrolment leaves something to be desired though as it is not encrypted or practical to print out. Entire site is only in English, and all pages open in frames, which makes navigation for some a bit of a challenge.

1) 7
2) 7
3) 7
4) 8
5) 7
6) 9

Final score: 45

Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
http://www.cpcml.ca/

Not an overly easy website to look at nor navigate. Information is there, it's just not easy to find, nor is available in both official languages. It appears to be updated fairly often, but is lacking many needed functions. Some things missing include candidates, and membership information. One thing going for the website - it loaded the quickest of those we looked at.

1) 5
2) 6
3) 7
4) 6
5) 6
6) 10

Final score: 40

Conservative Party of Canada
http://www.conservative.ca/

Welcome page is just that, welcoming with a smiling picture of the party leader Stephen Harper. Site is obviously one that has seen a lot of money spent on it, as it reeks 'professional'. That is not a bad thing, as it is very well done. Information is easy to find, it is updated often, and is in both official languages. There is not really much to find wrong with this website as it is very well rounded. It even includes wallpapers for CPC supporters' home computers. It was the slowest loading of the sites we ranked, which is surprising considering the overall professionalism of the website. As well, the site almost borders on a cult of personality, as Stephen Harper's face is everywhere.

1) 9
2) 10
3) 9
4) 8 (party needs to have convention first, but an outline is still needed.)
5) 9
6) 7

Final score: 52

Cosmopolitan Party of Canada*
http://www.agoracosmopolite.com/

Very slick site and very welcoming. Well that is until the music starts playing. Unless you are net-savvy, or just prepared to turn down the volume, the music from a flash file just does not fit with the rest of the website. Information is easy to find, is in both languages, and is written in a friendly manner. This site was probably the one with the most inclusion for members and non-members alike. Membership forms need to be encrypted.

1) 9
2) 8
3) 9
4) 9
5) 8
6) 9

Final score: 52

Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty.ca/

An attractive welcome page is there to greet the visitor to both official languages. Information is organized very well, and is easy to find your way around the site. Membership is encrypted by outside company, and is easy to understand. Party policies are easy to read, and prior candidates have their own pages. There is plenty of content and it is up to date.

1) 9
2) 9
3) 8
4) 9
5) 8
6) 8

Final score: 51

Libertarian Party of Canada
http://libertarian.ca/

Very plain site to the eyes, and the site is easy to navigate off of the main index page, although a main navigation bar would be a welcome addition. The site is in both official languages, but there is a lack of recent content. An outside company hosts the user forum, and there is a mailing list. There is no membership page or membership forms.

1) 7
2) 7
3) 6
4) 8
5) 7
6) 8

Final score: 43

Marijuana Party
http://www.marijuanaparty.com/

It is a pleasing site to the eyes whether they are glossy or clear. Site navigation is very good, and all information is organized in easy to follow links. We did find a few dead links to various content including candidates and articles. Content is updated fairly regularly and there are user forums. A part of the navigation menu itself was not working correctly and we never did find membership information.

1) 8
2) 7
3) 7
4) 7
5) 7
6) 9

Final score: 45

New Democratic Party
http://www.ndp.ca/

This is probably the best looking site along side the Conservative entry, with a big smiling Jack Layton to greet every visitor. Site content is very rich, but not very well organized. Navigating this site for novice web users could be a real chore. Party policies and information on candidates is very well represented, and there are reams of recent articles and sources of information. Media loaded and in both official languages, this site is very well done outside of the navigation issues.

1) 10
2) 8
3) 9
4) 9
5) 8
6) 8

Final score: 52

Progressive Canadian Party
http://www.pcparty.org/

The site is bland to the eyes, and all content loads in a scrollable centre window making navigation more difficult than need be. Even the graphics are cheesy with an overall fuzzy appearance. Membership is not available through the website unless you want to print it out and mail it in. There is a distinct lack of recent content or news. There is little avenue for user input, so in the end there is little to bring a user back to the website.

1) 6
2) 6
3) 6
4) 7
5) 5
6) 9

Final score: 39

Socialist Party of Canada
http://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/

It is a very plain site with little content to offer those looking for information. There is little user input and not much reason for a user to return. Content is outdated and not very well presented. Only some parts of the website are in French, and membership information is non-existent. We could not rank the site on leader information, as they don't believe in having leaders for the party.

1) 6
2) 6
3) 5
4) 6
5) 4
6) 9

Final score: 36

The Liberal Party
http://www.liberal.ca/

This site welcomes you with what we deemed to be a very intrusive and outright annoying welcome page. The welcome page features a smiling picture of Prime Minister Paul Martin who appears to be sporting a sunburn, with tiny little letters advising users they can avoid the personal information request. Once past the welcome screen the website is fairly well organized and information is easy to find. Of all the sites ranked, this one may have the most information available in various formats including photos, articles and multimedia. Sadly, this website is yet another with a non-encrypted membership enrolment page.

1) 8
2) 8
3) 10
4) 8
5) 7
6) 9

Final score: 50


* Did not run candidates in the 2004 federal election, but website and organization was active during the election cycle.