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

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.

Marginal note:Requirement to appoint auditor

• 355 (1) A third party that is required to register under subsection 353(1) shall appoint an auditor without delay if it incurs the following expenses in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more:

  • (a) partisan activity expenses in respect of partisan activities that take place during an election period;

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

  • (c) election survey expenses in relation to that period.

• Marginal note:Exception — deemed appointment

  (1.1) If, when the obligation under subsection (1) to appoint an auditor applies, a third party has an auditor who was appointed under subsection 349.8(1), the auditor is deemed to have been appointed under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Eligibility criteria

  (2) The following are eligible to be an auditor for a third party:

  • (a) a person who is a member in good standing of a corporation, an association or an institute of professional accountants; or

  • (b) a partnership every partner of which is a member in good standing of a corporation, an association or an institute of professional accountants.

• Marginal note:Ineligibility criteria

  (3) The following persons are not eligible to be an auditor for a third party:

  • (a) the third party’s financial agent;

  • (b) a person who signed the application made under subsection 353(2);

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

  • (d) a candidate;

  • (e) the official agent of a candidate;

  • (f) the chief agent of a registered party or an eligible party; and

  • (g) a registered agent of a registered party.

• Marginal note:Notification of appointment

  (4) Every third party, without delay after an auditor is appointed, must provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the auditor’s name, address, telephone number and occupation and a signed declaration accepting the appointment.

• Marginal note:New auditor

  (5) If a third party’s auditor is replaced, it must, without delay, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the new auditor’s name, address, telephone number and occupation and a signed declaration accepting the appointment.

356 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 229]

Marginal note:Responsibilities of financial agent

• 357 (1) Every contribution made during an election period to a registered third party for partisan activity, election advertising or election survey purposes shall be accepted by its financial agent, and every partisan activity expense, election advertising expense and election survey expense incurred during an election period on behalf of a registered third party shall be authorized by its financial agent.

• Marginal note:Delegation

  (2) A financial agent may authorize a person to accept contributions or to authorize the incurring of partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses or election survey expenses, but that authorization does not limit the financial agent’s responsibility.

• (3) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 230]

Marginal note:Interim third party expenses return

• 357.01 (1) Every third party that is required to be registered in accordance with subsection 353(1) shall file an interim third-party expenses return in the prescribed form with the Chief Electoral Officer on the 21st day before polling day, if the third party

  • (a) was required to file an interim third-party expenses return with the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 349.92(1);

  • (b) has incurred expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(1) or 350(1) in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more during the period beginning on the day after polling day at the previous general election and ending on the 23rd day before polling day; or

  • (c) has received contributions in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes during the period referred to in paragraph (b).

• Marginal note:Contents of return

  (2) The interim third-party expenses return shall contain

  • (a) in the case of a general election that is held on a day set in accordance with subsection 56.1(2) or section 56.2,

    • (i) a list of partisan activity expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the expenses relate,

    • (ii) a list of partisan advertising expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date and place of the transmission of the partisan advertising messages to which the expenses relate,

    • (iii) a list of election survey expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date of the election surveys to which the expenses relate, and

    • (iv) a list of all partisan activity expenses, partisan advertising expenses and election survey expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(1) — other than those referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) — and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the partisan activity expenses relate, the date and place of the transmission of the partisan advertising messages to which the partisan advertising expenses relate and the date of the election surveys to which the election survey expenses relate; and

  • (b) in the case of any general election,

    • (i) a list of partisan activity expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the expenses relate,

    • (ii) a list of election advertising expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date and place of the transmission of the election advertising messages to which the expenses relate,

    • (iii) a list of election survey expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date of the election surveys to which the expenses relate, and

    • (iv) a list of all partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses and election survey expenses referred to in subsection 350(1) other than those referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the partisan activity expenses relate, the date and place of the transmission of the election advertising messages to which the election advertising expenses relate and the date of the election surveys to which the election survey expenses relate.

• Marginal note:List of Canadian contributors

  (2.1) If subsection 349.95(1) or 358(1) applies to the third party, the interim third-party expenses return shall include the following for each Canadian individual whose contributions of a total amount of more than $200 were used to pay for the regulated expenses under that subsection:

  • (a) their name and address;

  • (b) the amount of each contribution;

  • (c) a list of the property or services that was contributed; and

  • (d) the date each contribution was made.

• Marginal note:When no expenses

  (3) If a third party has not incurred expenses referred to in subsection (2), that fact shall be indicated in its interim third-party expenses return.

• Marginal note:Contributions

  (4) The interim third-party expenses return shall include

  • (a) the amount of contributions for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes that were received during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b);

  • (b) for each contributor who made contributions of a total amount of more than $200 for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b), their name and address and the amount and date of each contribution; and

  • (c) [Repealed, 2026, c. 20, s. 21]

  • (d) the amount, other than an amount of a contribution referred to in paragraph (a), that was paid out of the third party’s own funds during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b) for partisan activity expenses, partisan advertising expenses, election advertising expenses or election survey expenses.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (5) The interim third-party expenses return need not include any information referred to in subsections (2) and (4) that was included in a third-party expenses return that the third party previously filed

  • (a) under subsection 359(1) in respect of

    • (i) a by-election that was held after the general election referred to in paragraph (1)(b), or

    • (ii) a general election for which the third party incurred expenses or received contributions between the day fixed under paragraph 57(1.2)(c) for polling day at the general election and polling day in an electoral district in which the election was postponed under subsection 59(4) or 77(1); or

  • (b) under subsection 349.91(1) or 349.92(1).

• Marginal note:Loans

  (6) For the purpose of subsection (4), a contribution includes a loan.

• (7) [Repealed, 2026, c. 20, s. 21]

• Marginal note:Names to be provided

  (8) If the third party is unable to identify which contributions were received during the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b) for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes, the interim third-party expenses return shall include, subject to paragraph (4)(c), the names and addresses of every contributor who contributed a total of more than $200 to it during that period.

• Marginal note:Declaration

  (9) The interim third-party expenses return shall include a declaration that the return is accurate signed by

  • (a) the third party’s financial agent; and

  • (b) if different from the financial agent, the person who signed the application made under subsection 349.6(2) or 353(2), as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Supporting documents

  (10) A third party shall, at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer, provide documents evidencing expenses set out in the return that are in an amount of more than $50, including bank statements, deposit slips and cancelled cheques.

Marginal note:Interim third-party expenses return

• 357.02 (1) Every third party that is required to be registered in accordance with subsection 353(1) shall file an interim third-party expenses return in the prescribed form with the Chief Electoral Officer on the 7th day before polling day, if the third party

  • (a) was required to file an interim third-party expenses return with the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 349.92(1);

  • (b) has incurred expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(1) or 350(1) in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more during the period beginning on the day after polling day at the previous general election and ending on the 9th day before polling day; or

  • (c) has received contributions in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes during the period referred to in paragraph (b).

• Marginal note:Section 357.01 applies

  (2) Subsections 357.01(2) to (10) apply to the return under subsection (1), except that a reference to the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b) of section 357.01 shall be read as a reference to the period referred to in paragraph (1)(b) of this section.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) In addition to the exceptions set out in subsection 357.01(5), the interim third-party expenses return need not include any information referred to in subsections 357.01(2) and (4) that was included in an interim third-party expenses return that the third party previously filed under subsection 357.01(1).

Marginal note:Prohibition — false, misleading or incomplete return

357.03 No third party shall file under subsection 357.01(1) or 357.02(1) an interim third-party expenses return that

• (a) the third party knows or ought reasonably to know contains a material statement that is false or misleading; or

• (b) does not substantially set out the information required under section 357.01 or 357.02, as the case may be.

Marginal note:Prohibition — use of anonymous contributions

357.1 No third party shall use a contribution for the purpose of any of the following if the third party does not know the name and address of the contributor:

• (a) a partisan activity that is carried out during an election period;

• (b) an election advertising message that is transmitted during that period; and

• (c) an election survey that is conducted during that period and whose results the third party takes into account in its decisions concerning whether or not to organize and carry out partisan activities during that period or to transmit election advertising messages during that period.

Marginal note:Limitation on expenses

• 358 (1) A third party shall use only contributions from Canadian individuals to pay for regulated expenses and shall use, as regulated expenses, only property or services that are contributions from Canadian individuals.

• Marginal note:Own funds

  (2) However, if the total amount of contributions received, from all sources and for any purpose, by the third party during the previous year is equal to or less than 10% of its revenue for that year, the third party may use its own funds, namely funds that are not contributions made to it, to pay for regulated expenses and may use, as regulated expenses, property or services that it has provided. In that case, the third party shall include a statement, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, of its revenues and expenses for that year in the third-party expenses return referred to in section 359.

• Marginal note:Excluded amounts

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), grants and contributions received from the Government of Canada or of a province or from a municipality are not included in determining the third party’s revenue for the previous year.

• Marginal note:Previous year — choice of third party

  (4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the third party may choose as their previous year either

  • (a) the calendar year that precedes the calendar year in which an election period occurs, or

  • (b) the fiscal year that precedes the fiscal year in which an election period occurs.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (5) This section does not apply in respect of a third party who is an individual or a third party that is not required to register under subsection 353(1).

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (6) The following definitions apply in this section.

  Canadian individual

  Canadian individual means an individual who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (particulier canadien)

  regulated expenses

  regulated expenses means any of the following expenses:

  • (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. (dépenses réglementées)