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Rules for Political Advertising

Elections Ontario regulates the registration and reporting requirements relating to political advertising but does not regulate the content of advertising. Any concerns about the content of advertising should be directed to the organization that has authorized it.

Political advertising is any advertising that promotes or opposes a political party, its leader or a candidate.

Political advertising also includes advertising about an issue that one or more registered political parties or candidates has taken a position on.

Political advertising can occur at any time.

All political advertising must include information about who authorized the advertising. For example, an advertisement must include a spoken or written line such as “Authorized by the XYZ campaign” or “This advertisement was paid for by the XYZ political party.”

If you plan to conduct, broadcast or publish political advertising, there may be registration and reporting requirements. Administrative penalties may apply if you fail to comply with these requirements. For more information, refer to the CFO Handbooks.