They said ‘Don’t read the comments.’ I said ‘Hold my maple syrup’ — and started building a platform where you actually can.
TL;DR: Social media is a dumpster fire. Between the bots, the ragebait, and the platforms that profit from division, it’s hard not to feel like we’ve in a completely different dimension. So I stopped hoping someone else would fix it—and decided to build something better, right here in Canada.
I feel like someone shook up the multiverse in 2025, and we’ve ended up on a pretty weird timeline.
- Canada’s been trending for all the wrong reasons
- The US is abandoning all pretence as a symbol of democracy and freedom
- The disinformation machine has gone into overdrive for the Canadian elections (and beyond)
It wouldn’t surprise me if this year is studied alongside the Mandela Effect some day.
But as confusing and surreal as it’s been, it’s actually not hard to see how we got here. From the time cable news went partisan, we’ve seen increasing wealth disparities, rising costs in… everything, and the complete takeover of social media echo chambers financed by rage and manipulation.
Once Trudeau stepped down and an election was on the horizon, it REALLY started to bug me. I tried not to engage. And by “tried”, I mean I totally didn’t. I found myself spiralling into comment threads that were just… shocking.
And then came Elbows Up Canada’s social channels.
Inspired by Mike Myer’s “Canada’s not for sale” appearance on SNL, my buddy Peter Wall started Elbows Up as a way to unite Canadians in response to Trump’s threats.
Over the span of just a few days, he quickly gathered dozens of people who helped organize everything from permits and PA systems, to speakers and bands for the first Elbow’s Up rally on Parliament Hill.
The group’s values?
- Non-Partisan – Open to all who believe in Canada’s future.
- Positive & Optimistic – Focused on solutions, not division.
- Family-Friendly – Welcoming for all ages.
- Empowering – Encouraging action and engagement.
- Polite but Angry – Passionate, but always respectful.
- Peaceful – Advocacy with civility.
The event was fun, hopeful, downright Canadian, and over 1000 people showed up.
On short notice, in Ottawa. It was incredibly impressive.
I played an ultra-minor role in organizing the event, but mainly, I took photos and managed the group’s socials. I filled our feeds with photos of Canadians of all ages, races, and genders standing together, smiling, singing, holding placards with messages of strength and unity.
So of course the trolls showed up.
It was mind-boggling and terribly frustrating. Here we were, expressing some of the most wholesomely Canadian values one could hope for, and our feeds were being infested by rage-baiting parasites.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the platforms had nothing to offer to mitigate it. No tools to push back, no real way to set the record straight. Just delete, hide, or get dragged into a fight.
And between the billionaire social-tech set going silent on Trump’s threats, Canadian digital infrastructure reliant overwhelmingly on Silicon Valley, and the disinformation/rage machine growing out of control, I started to wonder if we couldn’t reset the timeline by going back to pagers, fax machines, and phones the size of a small child.
And that’s when things shifted. I realized I could keep watching it happen, and do nothing, or I could do something nuts.
I decided to do something nuts.
That night, I started researching with a singular goal.
Could we build a new social platform? One that respected privacy, that didn’t algorithmically reward outrage, and maybe made it easier—not harder—to be decent to each other?
And the answer was, yes. Yes we can.
Better still, we can create social media that is:
- Built and hosted in Canada
- Owned by Canadians
- Ethical by design
- Secure, modern, and fun
You know, a platform that respects the same social values Canadians expect IRL.
And then the name came to me: Gander. Inspired by a town renowned for its compassion—and by a bird known for community, instinct and resilience.
So now, all that’s left to do is… everything.
I’ve been designing digital things for 25 years now. I’ve had agencies and SAAS products forever, and I’ve worked for bootstrapped startups and others with many millions of dollars in runway.
In that time, I’ve done it all. Strategy, branding, marketing, UX… I even write code (though more competent developers would disagree).
But something of this magnitude? Nope. This is new ground.
So I’ve gathered a team—passionate Canadians who share in the vision, and have taken Gander a step further by introducing ideas around community-driven design and consent-based interactions.
- We’ve designed our prototype
- We’ve built our proof of concept
- We’re putting together a suite of Canadian and/or open-source, self-hosted operational tools
- We’ve launched our social media channels and have started posting (probably why you’re here).
And, we’ve kicked off our Early Access Program to build interest, find supporters, and invite feedback… from folks like you.
I hope you’ll join us.
Team Gander
