Who are the eligible contributors in Ontario?
What are their contribution limits?
Can tax credit receipts be issued for goods and services?
How do you start a new provincial political party in Ontario?
What political parties are registered in Ontario and how can I contact them?
Where can I find financial statements and lists of contributors (i.e. donations) filed by registered political parties, candidates, constituency associations, and leadership contestants?
How does someone register as a candidate?
Must campaign bank accounts be opened for the election?
When can the candidate’s campaign be financially active?
Can a campaign take out a loan?
Are there campaign spending limits?
Are campaign expense subsidies available?
What the rules around political advertising ?
What is a third party?
What is election advertising?
What are the rules for third parties?
Do I have to register as a Third Party Advertiser if I am registered as a Referendum Campaign Organizer under the Electoral System Referendum Act, 2007?
Who are the eligible contributors in Ontario?
There are three types of eligible contributors:
- Individuals who are Ontario residents;
- Corporations carrying on business in Ontario that are not registered charities; and
- Labour councils and trade unions with bargaining rights for employees in Ontario.
What are their contribution limits?
Eligible contributors can contribute up to $8,400 to a central party in any year and an additional $8,400 for each campaign period. In addition, eligible contributors can contribute up to $5,600 annually to riding associations of any one party, but no more than $1,120 annually to a single association. Similarly, $5,600 can be contributed to candidates of any one party, with a limit of no more than $1,120 to a single candidate.
All contributions must be acknowledged with tax credit receipts, no matter how small. Contributions of up to $25 can be accepted in cash. Amounts over $25 must be paid by a cheque, money order or credit card having the name of the contributor legibly printed thereon and drawn on an account in the contributor's name.
For more information go to the Quick Guide for Political Contributions in Ontario.
Can tax credit receipts be issued for goods and services?
Each tax credit receipt issued for goods and services must be accompanied by an invoice or receipt to support the expenditure. These receipts must be accounted for both as contribution income and as an expense under the appropriate expense category. Tax credit receipts issued for goods and services count towards a contributor's contribution limit.
Services provided by volunteers are not eligible for tax credit receipts. However, if volunteers provide food, materials, gas etc, then the volunteers may be reimbursed for these out-of-pocket expenses with tax credit receipts.
How do you start a new provincial political party in Ontario?
The first step in the process is to reserve the name of the party. You should submit the name of the party in writing to the Chief Electoral Officer.See Guideline G41. Please use Form P-3 Reserve Political Party Name Request.
Once the name has been reserved, you have one year to register the party. There are two ways to register a political party in Ontario.
For more detailed information, please review Guideline PG00. You may also wish to review the Political Party section on our website.
What political parties are registered in Ontario and how can I contact them?
There are currently twelve registered political parties in Ontario.
Click here for a list of registered political parties in Ontario and their contact information.
Where can I find financial statements and lists of contributors (i.e. donations) filed by registered political parties, candidates, constituency associations, and leadership contestants?
It is a requirement of the Election Finances Act that all registered political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants file audited financial statements with the Chief Electoral Officer. Audited financial statements for election campaigns are to be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer within six months of polling day, while annual returns must be filed by registered political parties and constituency associations on or before May 31st of the following year.
These documents are available for the public to view, either:
- Click here for financial statements and contributions filed by registered political entities in Ontario.
- In person at the Election Finances Office of Elections Ontario at 51 Rolark Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M1R 3B1, Tel. (416) 325-9401. The public viewing room contains financial and registration information for all parties, riding associations, candidates and leadership contestants. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- You may order a photocopy of the financial statement for a specific candidate, association, party or leadership contestant at a cost of $1.00 per page. Payment by cheque or money order is required in advance for this service.
How does someone register as a candidate?
Party candidate registration
The first step is for a candidate to be nominated by their riding association. Once a candidate has won the nomination, they must appoint a chief financial officer (CFO) and an auditor, and decide at which bank the campaign account will be opened.
To register with Election Finances, a Candidate Registration and Change Notice Form C-1 must be completed and signed by the candidate, candidate’s CFO and party or association's CFO.
Independent candidate registration
For an independent candidate, they declare them self to be an independent candidate after the writs for the election. They must appoint a chief financial officer (CFO) and an auditor, and decide at which financial institution to open a campaign account
To register with Election Finances, a Candidate Registration and Change Notice Form, C 1 must be completed and signed by the candidate and candidate’s CFO.
All Candidates must also file nomination papers with the Returning Officer before close of nominations.
Must campaign bank accounts be opened for the election?
The candidate’s campaign must open a bank account in the name of the candidate’s campaign. All contributions to the candidate's campaign must be deposited into this account and all campaign expenses must be paid from this account.
It is not acceptable to use the association's bank account to deposit contributions, nor pay expenses incurred by the candidate's campaign.
When can the candidate’s campaign be financially active?
The financial campaign begins when a candidate is registered with Elections Ontario - Election Finances (Form C 1) and the writs for the election have been issued. The campaign period ends three months following polling day.
A candidate’s campaign cannot accept contributions nor incur expenses until a writ has been issued and the candidate is registered. However, a riding association can continue to accept funds if contributions are made to the association and not the candidate’s campaign. The association can also incur expenses on behalf of the candidate. These expenses are classified as pre-writ expenses and some portion will be transferred to the candidate and may be subject to the candidate's expense limit.
Can a campaign take out a loan?
A campaign or riding association may wish to take out a loan to help finance the candidate's campaign. Such a loan can be taken only from the following sources:
• Financial institutions;
• Riding Associations registered in Ontario; and
• Parties registered in Ontario
For further information please see Guideline G36.
Are there campaign spending limits?
The amount of money a candidate is permitted to spend during a campaign period is calculated very easily -- it is $1.08 for each eligible elector in the electoral district. This calculation is based on the final List of Electors. A further limit of $7,840 is allowed for candidates located in the northern electoral districts.
Party spending limits currently stand at .67 cents per eligible elector.
Are campaign expense subsidies available?
All registered candidates and parties receiving at least 15% of the popular vote are entitled to receive a campaign expense subsidy. The subsidy entitlement is calculated at 20% of the spending limit, or 20% of total actual campaign expenses, whichever is less.
These subsidies are to help defray the cost of the campaign.
What the rules around political advertising ?
Political advertising is anything that can be seen, heard or read and must bear authorization. An example of appropriate wording could be "authorized by the XYZ campaign" or you could say, "authorized by the ABC Constituency Association".
The blackout period for this fixed election date remains for the day before polling day and polling day itself. The only exception to this is advertising in a weekly newspaper whose normal publication day falls on these two days.
No party, constituency association or candidate registered under this Act, and no person, corporation or trade union, whether acting with or without the party's, association's or candidate's consent, shall arrange for or consent to political advertising that appears during a blackout period.
For more information go to Guideline G.23.
What is a third party?
A third party is a person or entity, other than a candidate, constituency association or party registered under the Election Finances Act that engages in election advertising. A third party entity may encompass every type of group such as, but not limited to, a corporation, and unincorporated association and partnership.
What is election advertising?
Election advertising is advertising in any medium during an election period from the writ to polling day with the purpose of promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly, a registered political party or the election of a registered candidate to the Ontario Legislature. This includes but is not limited to advertisements appearing in print, broadcast, or online.
What are the rules for third parties?
Once the writ for an election has been issued, third parties must register immediately with the Chief Electoral Officer if they have already spent $500 or more on election advertising activities. Third parties that subsequently engage in election advertising during the writ period must also register immediately once they have spent $500 or more.
A statement of authorization is required on all third party election advertising. Authorization means you must identify who has caused the advertisement to appear
If you register as a third party advertiser, you must file a financial report after the event on all election advertising expenses and contributions for the period beginning two months prior to the issue of the writ. This report is due six months after polling day. These reports must be audited if the election advertising expenses are $5,000 or more.
Do I have to register as a Third Party Advertiser if I am registered as a Referendum Campaign Organizer under the Electoral System Referendum Act, 2007?
Yes, registration as a third party election advertiser and registration as a referendum campaign organizer are two separate and distinct registrations. To participate as a referendum campaign organizer and conduct referendum advertising you need to register separately for that activity with the Chief Electoral Officer.
If you are looking for information on Referendum Advertising, please follow this link