The Election Finances Act (Act) brings the financing of all Ontario provincial general election and by-election campaigns out into the open. A summary of the total amounts your campaign raises and spends will be made public. A list of the names and addresses of everyone who donated more than $100 to your campaign will be kept by the Chief Electoral Officer and will be available to the public. The Act also sets limits on how much you can spend on your campaign.
You are responsible for making sure that the Chief Electoral Officer receives a complete financial statement of your campaign and that all the information is accurate. That remains your responsibility whether you win or lose the election.
Failure to report can result in fines, prohibition from running again and the forfeiture of your seat in the Legislative Assembly.
Nobody expects a candidate to personally keep track of all the financial details of the campaign. That is why the Act spells out a number of organizational steps you must take before you can become a registered candidate.
Decisions
1. Select a Chief Financial Officer
This is to be done before registration with the Chief Electoral Officer. Your chief financial officer (CFO) will be in charge of keeping records of all your financial transactions, with regard to both incoming funds and campaign expenditures. Your CFO also completes your campaign report to the Chief Electoral Officer. It would be best to select someone who has a good knowledge of accounting or bookkeeping. Your CFO may be the same person who acts as CFO for your constituency association. Guidelines to the Act will be provided by the Chief Electoral Officer to assist your CFO with the responsibilities. Your CFO must consent to take the position as legal liability may result from the CFO's actions.
2. Appoint an Auditor
An auditor is a professional accountant licensed in Ontario. Your auditor will examine and report on your campaign financial statement. Your auditor also must be named in your registration application. The Chief Electoral Officer will help you pay the auditor's fees.
3. Appoint Persons Authorized to Accept Contributions
Appoint and advise the Chief Electoral Officer of the persons authorized to accept contributions to your campaign, whether collected door-to-door or otherwise. Only your CFO or others on record to do so can issue tax credit receipts for contributions. Therefore any contributions accepted must be turned over to the CFO for deposit in your campaign account.
Note: The Act prohibits a candidate from accepting contributions.
4. Select Accounts and Signing Authority
You have to select all the accounts you will use for your campaign, and who will have signing authority for these accounts. The Act says that all the campaign funds you receive have to be deposited in one of the accounts on record with the Chief Electoral Officer.
5. Select Location of Records
You should decide where in Ontario your campaign records are to be kept. The Chief Electoral Officer has the right to inspect your records and it is up to you to inform the Chief Electoral Officer where they are.
Action
Your next step is registration. Every candidate in an Ontario provincial election must register with the Election Finances Division of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Until you are registered, your campaign organization is not entitled to either accept money or incur any liabilities. Nor can you spend any of your own money on your campaign before registration.
Your party and constituency association can raise and spend money in the meantime. However, goods transferred from their inventory stocks, any prepaid fees or expenses for services and any contributions of goods and services for use in your campaign will count towards your total campaign expenses.
Registration forms are available from the Election Finances Division upon request. You can apply for registration as soon as you receive your party's official nomination, but it does not take effect until the day the election is called.
If you apply after the writ has been issued your registration takes effect the day your Application for Registration is received by the Chief Electoral Officer.
If you mail your application by registered mail after the election is called, your application becomes effective on the day you mail the form, provided that the form is properly completed.
Independent candidates who have declared their candidacy publicly may apply for registration as soon as the election is called.
Note: You must file official nomination papers with the Riding Returning Officer in addition to registration with the Chief Electoral Officer for the purposes of the Election Finances Act.
Changes of Information
If you register and decide before polling day that you want to withdraw from the election, you must notify the Chief Electoral Officer. Your CFO will have to submit a financial statement covering any transactions you made up to that point.
The Chief Electoral Officer needs to be notified forthwith in writing of any changes of officers.
Campaign Income
The Act places limits on the amount of money your fund-raisers can accept from any single contributor. And it spells out in detail how the money you raise must be handled.
It is essential that your CFO review the guidelines issued by the Chief Electoral Officer very carefully.
You should be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure that your CFO issues a tax credit receipt for every contribution accepted which is deposited into your campaign bank account. Any of your own money which you use for your campaign must be recorded by your CFO as a contribution subject to the same limits as any other contributor ($1,240). These out-of-pocket campaign expenditures count toward your spending limit as well as being contributions, so you will have to keep a complete list of them, including receipts and invoices, for your CFO.
Full particulars regarding the sources from which funds can be solicited, the limits on contributions, fund-raising activities, etc. are given in Section 4 on page Campaign Expense Exceptions
Loans
You may borrow money for campaign purposes from any financial institution in Ontario, or from your registered party or constituency association. The terms of the loan will have to be recorded and included in your financial report to the Chief Electoral Officer. You may not accept a loan from any other source including a federal party, nor loan your own funds to your campaign.
Limits on Expenses
The Act sets ceilings on the amount of campaign expenses you may incur. The formula set out in the Act calculates your maximum allowable amount based on the number of electors entitled to vote in your electoral district. Any public subsidies for which you may be eligible are also derived from this formula. Further details regarding this can be found in Section 5 on page 20.
Your CFO must approve your campaign budget in advance and authorize all spending to ensure you do not go over your limit. Excessive spending will lead to a reduction of the Chief Electoral Officer's subsidy for your campaign and other penalties.
Advertising
The Act also sets time limits on political advertising. In all elections there is a blackout period imposed on the day before poling day and polling day.
In by-elections and general elections that are not scheduled under subsection 9(2) of the Election Act, there is an additional blackout period imposed that begins when writs are issued and ends on the 22nd day before polling day. In this instance, the allowable period for political advertising begins 22 days before polling day and ends at midnight on the day which is two days before polling day. For example, if polling day were May 28th, then political advertising could only be done during the period from May 6th through May 26th inclusive.
When the Campaign Is Over
A campaign period officially ends three months after polling day. This enables a candidate's fund-raisers to raise additional funds to meet campaign expenses. Any debt outstanding after the application of the public subsidy becomes the responsibility of your constituency association.
If you end up with a surplus it must be turned over to your party or constituency association. In the case of an independent candidate any surplus must be turned over to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Win or lose the election, you have to file with the Chief Electoral Officer within six months of voting day a complete accounting of all money raised and spent. Make sure your CFO prepares and forwards the required audited statement of your campaign before the six month filing date. This is form CR-1.
The Chief Electoral Officer will publish in The Ontario Gazette and on an Internet website a summary of the total amount of your campaign income, campaign expenses, and subsidy received along with the income and campaign expenses of the endorsing constituency association.
In addition, your audited campaign return including the list of the name, address and amount of the contribution of everyone who donated more than $100 in aggregate to your campaign will be available for examination by any person upon request at our office.