Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9)

DIVISION 2Partisan Activities, Election Advertising and Election Surveys During Election Period

Marginal note:Maximum election period expenses

• 350 (1) Subject to section 351.1, a third party shall not incur the following expenses in an aggregate amount of more than $350,000:

  • (a) partisan activity expenses in relation to partisan activities that are carried out during the election period of a general election;

  • (b) election advertising expenses in relation to election advertising messages that are transmitted during that period; and

  • (c) election survey expenses in relation to election surveys that are conducted during that period.

• Marginal note:Maximum election period expenses — electoral district

  (2) Not more than $3,000 of the maximum amount referred to in subsection (1) shall be incurred to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a given electoral district.

• Marginal note:Expenses — party leader

  (3) The maximum amount set out in subsection (2) only applies to an amount incurred with respect to a leader of a registered party or eligible party to the extent that it is incurred to promote or oppose his or her election in an electoral district.

• Marginal note:Maximum election period expenses — by-election

  (4) Subject to section 351.1, a third party shall not incur the following expenses in an aggregate amount of more than $3,000 in a given electoral district:

  • (a) partisan activity expenses in relation to partisan activities that are carried out during the election period of a by-election;

  • (b) election advertising expenses in relation to election advertising messages that are transmitted during that period; and

  • (c) election survey expenses in relation to election surveys that are conducted during that period.

• Marginal note:Uncancellable spending

  (4.1) In the case of a general election that is not held on a day set in accordance with subsection 56.1(2) or section 56.2, or of a by-election, a third party is deemed not to have incurred a partisan activity expense, an election advertising expense or an election survey expense if, on the issue of the writ or writs, it is not able to cancel the activity, the transmission of the advertising message or the survey, as the case may be, that the expense is in relation to.

• Marginal note:Third party inflation adjustment factor

  (5) The amounts referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (4) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in section 384 that is in effect on the issue of the writ or writs.

• (6) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 224]

Marginal note:Prohibition — circumventing maximum amount

351 A third party shall not circumvent, or attempt to circumvent, a maximum amount set out in section 350 in any manner, including by splitting itself into two or more third parties for the purpose of circumventing the maximum amount or acting in collusion with another third party so that their combined partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses and election survey expenses exceed the maximum amount.

Marginal note:Prohibition — collusion with registered party

• 351.01 (1) No third party and no registered party shall act in collusion with each other — including by sharing information — in order to influence the third party in its partisan activities that it carries out during an election period, its election advertising or its election surveys that it conducts or causes to be conducted during an election period.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — collusion with candidate

  (2) No third party and no candidate shall act in collusion with each other — including by sharing information — in order to influence the third party in its partisan activities that it carries out during an election period, its election advertising or its election surveys that it conducts or causes to be conducted during an election period.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — collusion with associated person

  (3) No third party and no person associated with a candidate’s campaign — including a candidate’s official agent — shall act in collusion with each other — including by sharing information — in order to influence the third party in its partisan activities that it carries out during an election period, its election advertising or its election surveys that it conducts or causes to be conducted during an election period.

Marginal note:Prohibition — spending by foreign third parties

• 351.1 (1) A foreign third party shall not incur the following expenses:

  • (a) partisan activity expenses in relation to a partisan activity that is carried out during an election period;

  • (b) election advertising expenses in relation to an election advertising message that is transmitted during that period; and

  • (c) election survey expenses in relation to an election survey that is conducted during that period.

• Marginal note:Definition of foreign third party

  (2) In subsection (1), a foreign third party is a third party in respect of which

  • (a) if the third party is an individual, the individual

    • (i) is not a Canadian citizen,

    • (ii) is not a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and

    • (iii) does not reside in Canada;

  • (b) if the third party is a corporation or entity,

    • (i) it does not carry on business in Canada, or its primary purpose in Canada during an election period is to influence electors during that period to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate or registered party, at the election, and

    • (ii) it was incorporated, formed or otherwise organized outside Canada; and

  • (c) if the third party is a group, no person who is responsible for the group

    • (i) is a Canadian citizen,

    • (ii) is a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or

    • (iii) resides in Canada.

351.2 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 225]

Marginal note:Advertising to name third party

352 A third party shall include — in a manner that is clearly visible or otherwise accessible — in any election advertising message placed by it its name, its telephone number, either its civic or its Internet address and an indication in or on the message that it has authorized its transmission.

Marginal note:Registration requirement for third parties

• 353 (1) A third party shall register immediately after having incurred the following expenses in an aggregate amount of $500:

  • (a) partisan activity expenses in relation to partisan activities that are carried out during an election period;

  • (b) election advertising expenses in relation to election advertising messages that are transmitted during that period; and

  • (c) election survey expenses in relation to election surveys that are conducted during that period.

  However, the third party may not register before the issue of the writ.

• Marginal note:Exception — deemed registration

  (1.1) A third party that registered under subsection 349.6(1) during a pre-election period that ends the day before the day of the issue of the writ and that is also required to register under subsection (1) is deemed to be registered under that subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Application for registration

  (2) An application for registration shall be sent to the Chief Electoral Officer in the prescribed form and shall include

  • (a) if the third party is an individual, the individual’s name, address and telephone number, their signature and their declaration that

    • (i) they are a Canadian citizen,

    • (ii) they are a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or

    • (iii) they reside in Canada;

  • (b) if the third party is a corporation, the name, address and telephone number of the corporation and of an officer who has signing authority for it, the officer’s signature and their declaration that the corporation carries on business in Canada;

  • (b.1) if the third party is a group, the name, address and telephone number of the group and of a person who is responsible for the group, the person’s signature and their declaration that

    • (i) they are a Canadian citizen,

    • (ii) they are a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or

    • (iii) they reside in Canada;

  • (c) the address and telephone number of the third party’s office where its books and records are kept and of the office in Canada to which communications may be addressed and at which documents may be served; and

  • (d) the name, address and telephone number of the third party’s financial agent.

• Marginal note:Declaration of financial agent to accompany application

  (3) An application under subsection (2) must be accompanied by a declaration signed by the financial agent accepting the appointment.

• Marginal note:New financial agent

  (4) If a third party’s financial agent is replaced, it shall, without delay, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the new financial agent’s name, address and telephone number and a declaration signed by the new financial agent accepting the appointment.

• Marginal note:Trade union or corporation

  (5) If the third party is a trade union, corporation or other entity with a governing body, the application shall include a copy of a resolution passed by its governing body authorizing it to incur partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses and election survey expenses.

• Marginal note:Examination of application

  (6) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, without delay after receiving an application, determine whether the requirements set out in subsections (1) to (3) and (5) are met and shall then notify the person who signed the application whether the third party is registered. In the case of a refusal to register, the Chief Electoral Officer shall give reasons for the refusal.

• Marginal note:Application rejected

  (7) A third party may not be registered under a name that, in the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer, is likely to be confused with the name of a candidate, registered party, registered third party or eligible party.

• Marginal note:Registration ends

  (8) The registration of a third party is valid only for the election period during which the application is made, but the third party continues to be subject to the requirement to file a third-party expenses return under subsection 359(1).

Marginal note:Appointment of financial agent

• 354 (1) A third party that is required to register under subsection 353(1) shall appoint a financial agent who may be a person who is authorized to sign an application for registration made under that subsection.

• Marginal note:Exception — deemed appointment

  (1.1) If, at the end of the pre-election period before a general election referred to in paragraph 353(1)(a), a third party has a financial agent who was appointed under subsection 349.7(1), the financial agent is deemed to have been appointed under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Financial agent — ineligible persons

  (2) The following persons are not eligible to be a financial agent of a third party:

  • (a) a candidate or an official agent of a candidate;

  • (b) a person who is the chief agent, or a registered agent, of a registered party;

  • (c) an election officer or a member of the staff of a returning officer; and

  • (d) a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.