Plenty of people tweeted about the Conservative Party of Canada's weekend convention, but perhaps none was more beloved by generations X, Y and Z (um, is there a Gen-Z?) than legendary Canadian children's entertainer Raffi Cavoukian.
The Huffington Post Canada had the opportunity to talk to Raffi, and one of the topics that came up -- alongside his music career, upcoming concerts and social media-wary book Lightweb Darkweb, which we'll discuss in a subsequent article -- was the singer's use of Twitter to promote his political, environmental and social beliefs.
From taking on Stephen Harper and the Tories and supporting Edward Snowden to critiquing Robin Thicke's "sexist crap" and hockey violence, the man behind "Bananaphone" is using the online equivalent to reach an adult audience.
"I've always been in some ways a rebel," Raffi says. "For a long time I didn't allow my albums to be nominated for Junos because they were based on sales and I pulled out of the Vancouver Children's Festival in 2000 because they let a car company overrun the festival. I've been espousing what some might call 'green values,' in terms of green energy, sustainability, and so on – and so those are the values you see in my tweets. They're not political in the sense of -- I'm not partisan, right? But I did vote for and I'm happy to have Elizabeth May in Parliament."
But while the "Baby Beluga" troubadour (and occasional HuffPost Canada blogger) declares himself non-partisan, Raffi clearly has concerns about Stephen Harper.
"When I do get dismissive of our prime minister, it's because he is dismissive of our country's demographic traditions. When I say 'dismissive' what I mean is he's disrespectful of our country's traditions, and that bothers me. So I speak out."
With so many political scandals right now, from the senate to Rob Ford, Raffi says discussing these issues with your kids is dependent on how old they are.
"I guess my advice would be if the kids ask, then you want a frank conversation. But it's not something necessarily bring up as a parent. If a child is asking you that means they've heard something and they want some information or your perspective, then you engage them honestly."