.01

A political party that intends to apply to the Chief Electoral Officer to be registered is required to submit to the Chief Electoral Officer the full name of the political party and the abbreviation thereof, if any, which it proposes to use. The Chief Electoral Officer shall determine whether the name and/or the abbreviation is registerable.

The Chief Electoral Officer shall not register a political party if:

a) its name includes the word "independent" or "indépendant" in any form, or

b) the resemblance between the name or abbreviation of the name of the party and the name, abbreviation of the name or nickname of another political party or political organization that is active anywhere in Canada is so close that confusion is likely.

Act references 10(5) and 10(7)

The Request to Reserve Name of a Political Party Form P-3 for political parties applying to reserve a party name is available from the Chief Electoral Officer. Form P-3 must be completed in full and submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer. The form may be submitted by fax.

.02

If the Chief Electoral Officer determines that the proposed name and/or abbreviation of the political party is registerable, the name and abbreviation will be reserved for a period of one year following the date that the Chief Electoral Officer makes its determination.

Act reference 10(8)

.03

If the political party fails to make an application to the Chief Electoral Officer for registration during the one year period for which the name and abbreviation, if any, were reserved, the party does not have an automatic right to have the name and/or abbreviation reserved for an additional period of time. However, the political party may apply again to the Chief Electoral Officer to reserve the proposed name and abbreviation, if any, for a further period of one year. In considering a request to reserve a name for another year, the Chief Electoral Officer will take into account whether the party has made a genuine attempt to obtain the necessary number of signatures from eligible voters endorsing the application for registration and whether the party has been granted previous renewals of its proposed name and/or abbreviation.

.04

The Election Finances Act requires that an application for registration be made within one year of the Chief Electoral Officer making a determination that the name is registerable. The necessary 1,000 signatures from eligible voters must be collected within the one year period following the Chief Electoral Officer's reservation of the proposed name. A political party is not permitted to collect signatures over a period of years. After one year, the signatures become "stale dated" and cannot be used on an application for registration beyond the one year period.

Act references 10(2)(b) and 10(7)

.05

A political party may not apply to the Chief Electoral Officer for registration on the basis of a petition containing 1,000 signatures from eligible voters during a campaign period.

Registration of a new political party during a campaign period can only be accomplished by the party endorsing candidates in at least two electoral districts following the issuance of the writs for a general election, or two or more concurrent by-elections.

Act reference 10(2)

However, signatures for the petition can still be collected during the campaign period.

.06

Although the Chief Electoral Officer can receive a petition within the one-year period following the date the proposed party name has been approved, it takes the Chief Electoral Officer approximately two months to verify the signatures on a petition. Therefore, if you submit your petition prior to a campaign period, the Chief Electoral Officer will not have enough time to verify the signatures on the petition and to register your political party for the election in progress. However, you may register your party by endorsing candidates in at least two electoral districts.

.07

You should consult Guideline PG00 – Political Party – Application for Registration/Change in Registration Information for further details.