Liberals and Conservatives said their rallies drew thousands. We decided to count

Political campaigns often boast about the size of their rallies, but a recent CBC News investigation has revealed that these claims may not always be accurate. Hand-counts of attendees at Conservative and Liberal rallies across the country showed that the actual numbers were significantly lower than what the campaigns reported.

For example, the Conservatives claimed that a rally near Edmonton was attended by 15,000 people, but a hand-count by CBC News and crowd scientist G. Keith Still revealed only 1,558 attendees. Similarly, the Liberals claimed 2,000 people at a rally in Richmond, but the actual count was closer to 800.

Hand-counting heads in images taken at the rallies was the most reliable method of determining crowd size, according to Still. The analysis showed that some attendees may have been missed due to perspective or obstruction, but even accounting for these factors, the reported numbers were far off.

The investigation also found that campaign photos of the rallies were compared with videos and images from social media to ensure that the count included most of those present. While hand-counts are not perfect and carry a margin of error, they provided a more accurate representation of the crowd sizes.

Both the Conservative and Liberal campaigns responded to the investigation, with the Conservatives disputing the findings and pointing to RCMP estimates for the rally near Edmonton. The Liberals claimed record-breaking attendance at their events but did not provide specific evidence for their crowd counts.

Overall, crowd sizes at rallies have little correlation with electoral success, according to analysts. While campaigns may inflate numbers for PR purposes, the focus should be on accurately representing the support of their supporters rather than competing with each other for larger crowds.