A cabinet minister's tweet about "hundreds of millions" of Canadian families has sparked both mockery and calls for the speedy return of the long-form census.
Though Employment and Social Development Minister Pierre Poilievre (or a staffer) removed the tweet shortly after it was posted Thursday, at least some of Canada's 35 million people screengrabbed the gaffe.
The federal government says an estimated 200,000 families who are eligible for money under its expanded child care benefit program are at risk of missing out because they are not registered in the system. Poilievre has called on the media and his fellow MPs to encourage families to apply.
But the minister's social media slip-up might be what really drives attention to the issue.
It didn't take long for Poilievre, who earned the nickname "Skippy" and the reputation of a Conservative attack dog before he was promoted to Stephen Harper's cabinet in 2013, to face some ridicule.
Some people reminded the 35-year-old Poilievre, a tie-wearing politician since 2004, that he should have said we need "fewer" ties. That's the adjective to be used when referring to things or people in the plural.
Poilievre's mistakes come weeks after basketball fans poked fun at Prime Minister Stephen Harper after his Twitter account misidentified a Canadian NBA player as American-born Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry.
Defence Minister Jason Kenney has also had a number of social media fumbles in recent weeks.
Under the Tories' proposed changes to the child care benefit system, families would receive almost $2,000 a year for each child under six and $720 for each kid between the ages of six and 17.
"If you've got kids under 18, you qualify. Period," Poilievre said in a statement Thursday. "It doesn't matter how much you make or the type of child care you choose."
For more information on how to apply, head to www.canada.ca/taxsavings.
With a file from The Canadian Press
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