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

Marginal note:Prohibition — false or misleading declaration

478.921 No leadership contestant shall send to their financial agent a declaration referred to in paragraph 478.8(1)(d) that they know or ought reasonably to know is false or misleading.

Marginal note:Prohibition — false, misleading or incomplete document

478.93 No financial agent of a leadership contestant shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a document referred to in subsection 478.8(1), (10), (11), (12) or (15) that

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

• (b) in the case of a document referred to in paragraph 478.8(1)(a), does not substantially set out the information required under subsection 478.8(2) and, in the case of a document referred to in subsection 478.8(10), (11), (12) or (15), does not substantially set out the information required under that subsection.

Payment of Audit Expenses

Marginal note:Certificate

• 478.931 (1) On receipt of the documents referred to in subsection 478.8(1), including the auditor’s report, and a copy of the auditor’s invoice for the report, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Receiver General with a certificate that sets out the greater of

  • (a) the amount of the expenses incurred for the audit, up to a maximum of the lesser of 3% of the leadership contestant’s leadership contest expenses and $1,500, and

  • (b) $250.

• Marginal note:Payment

  (2) On receipt of the certificate, the Receiver General shall pay the amount set out in it to the auditor out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

• Marginal note:Inflation adjustment factor

  (3) The $1,500 amount set out in paragraph (1)(a) and the $250 amount set out in paragraph (1)(b) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in section 384 that is in effect on the day on which the leadership contest ends.

Surplus of Leadership Campaign Funds

Marginal note:Surplus of leadership campaign funds

• 478.94 (1) The surplus amount of leadership campaign funds that a leadership contestant receives for a leadership contest is the amount by which the sum of the following is more than the sum of the contestant’s leadership campaign expenses paid from the bank account referred to in subsection 478.72(1) and any transfers referred to in paragraph 364(5)(b):

  • (a) contributions accepted by the leadership campaign agents on behalf of the contestant;

  • (b) money received from the sale referred to in subsection (2);

  • (c) amounts referred to in subsection 365(3); and

  • (d) any other amounts received by the contestant for their leadership campaign that are required to be deposited into the bank account referred to in subsection 478.72(1) and are not repayable.

• Marginal note:Sale of capital assets

  (2) Before the surplus amount of leadership campaign funds is disposed of in accordance with sections 478.95 and 478.96, a leadership contestant’s financial agent shall sell, at their fair market value, any capital assets whose acquisition constitutes a leadership campaign expense.

Marginal note:Notice of estimated surplus

• 478.95 (1) If the Chief Electoral Officer estimates that a leadership contestant has a surplus of leadership campaign funds, the Chief Electoral Officer shall issue a notice of the estimated amount of the surplus to the contestant’s financial agent.

• Marginal note:Disposal of surplus funds

  (2) The leadership contestant’s financial agent shall dispose of a surplus of leadership campaign funds within 60 days after the day on which they receive the notice of estimated surplus.

• Marginal note:Disposal without notice

  (3) If a leadership contestant has a surplus of leadership campaign funds but their financial agent has not received a notice of estimated surplus, the financial agent shall dispose of the surplus within 60 days after the day on which the Chief Electoral Officer is provided with the contestant’s leadership campaign return.

Marginal note:Method of disposal of surplus

478.96 The leadership contestant’s financial agent shall dispose of surplus leadership campaign funds by transferring them to the registered party that is holding the leadership contest or a registered association of that party.

Marginal note:Notice of disposal of surplus

• 478.97 (1) A leadership contestant’s financial agent shall, within seven days after disposing of the contestant’s surplus leadership campaign funds, give the Chief Electoral Officer a notice in the prescribed form of the amount and date of the disposal and to whom the surplus was transferred.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) As soon as feasible after the disposal of a leadership contestant’s surplus leadership campaign funds, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish the notice in any manner that he or she considers appropriate.

PART 19Enforcement

Peace and Good Order at Elections

Marginal note:Duty to maintain order

• 479 (1) Every returning officer is responsible for maintaining order in his or her office during voting in accordance with Division 4 of Part 11.

• Marginal note:Duty to maintain order

  (2) Every election officer is responsible for maintaining order during voting hours at any place where voting takes place in accordance with Part 9 or 10.

• Marginal note:Order to leave

  (3) In performing his or her duty under subsection (1) or (2), an election officer may order a person to leave the returning officer’s office or other place where the vote is taking place if the person is committing — or the officer believes on reasonable grounds that the person has committed — in the office or place an offence under this Act, any other Act of Parliament or any regulation made under any other Act of Parliament that threatens the maintenance of order.

• Marginal note:Order must be obeyed

  (4) Every person in respect of whom an order is made to leave an office or place must obey it without delay.

• (5) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 320]

• (6) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 320]

• Marginal note:Removal of material

  (7) If a returning officer or other election officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person has contravened paragraph 166(1)(a) or (b), the officer may cause any material that they believe on reasonable grounds was used in contravention of that paragraph to be removed from, in the case of a returning officer, his or her office or, in the case of any other election officer, the polling station.

• Marginal note:Peace officer protection

  (8) Every election officer has, while exercising their powers or performing their duties under this section, all the protection that a peace officer has by law.

Offences

General Provisions

Marginal note:Application

479.1 Sections 480 to 482.1 apply inside and outside Canada.

Marginal note:Obstruction, etc., of electoral process

• 480 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, with the intention of delaying or obstructing the electoral process, contravenes this Act, otherwise than by committing an offence under subsection (2) or any of sections 480.1 to 482.1 or contravening a provision referred to in any of sections 484 to 499.

• Marginal note:Public meetings

  (2) Every person is guilty of an offence who, at any time between the issue of a writ and the day after polling day at the election, acts, incites others to act or conspires to act in a disorderly manner with the intention of preventing the transaction of the business of a public meeting called for the purposes of the election.

Marginal note:Impersonation

• 480.1 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, with intent to mislead,

  • (a) falsely represents themselves to be any of the persons referred to in paragraph (2);

  • (b) causes anyone to falsely represent themselves to be any of those persons;

  • (c) creates or causes to be created an image that is likely to be mistaken for an image of any of those persons;

  • (d) creates or causes to be created an imitation of the voice of any of those persons that is likely to be mistaken for the voice of the persons or an audio recording that falsely represents anything said by any of those persons;

  • (e) distributes, transmits or publishes an image referred to in paragraph (c) or imitation or audio recording referred to in paragraph (d).

• Marginal note:Persons

  (2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(a) to (e), the persons are the following:

  • (a) the Chief Electoral Officer, a member of the Chief Electoral Officer’s staff or a person who is authorized to act on the Chief Electoral Officer’s behalf;

  • (b) an election officer or a person who is authorized to act on an election officer’s behalf;

  • (c) a person who is authorized to act on behalf of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, including the Commissioner;

  • (d) a leader of a registered party or eligible party;

  • (e) a person who is authorized to act on behalf of a registered party or registered association;

  • (f) a candidate or a person who is authorized to act on a candidate’s behalf;

  • (g) a potential candidate;

  • (h) a prospective candidate;

  • (i) a nomination contestant; and

  • (j) a leadership contestant.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (1) if they establish that the image, imitation, audio recording or representation was manifestly for the purpose of parody or satire.

Marginal note:Misleading publications

• 481 (1) Every person or entity is guilty of an offence that distributes, transmits or publishes any material that purports to be made, distributed, transmitted or published by or under the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or a returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant, if

  • (a) the person or entity was not authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or that returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant to distribute, transmit or publish it; and

  • (b) the person or entity distributes, transmits or publishes it with the intent of misleading the public into believing that it was made, distributed, transmitted or published by or under the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or that returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant.

• Marginal note:Factors

  (2) In determining whether a person or entity has committed an offence under subsection (1), the court may consider whether the material included the use of

  • (a) a name, logo, social media account identifier, username or domain name that is distinctive and commonly associated with the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner, a returning officer or the political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant, as the case may be; or

  • (b) the name, voice, image or signature of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner, a returning officer or the nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant or of a public figure who is associated with the political party.

• Marginal note:Exception — parody or satire

  (3) A person or entity does not commit an offence under subsection (1) if they establish that the material was manifestly distributed, transmitted or published for the purpose of parody or satire.

Marginal note:Unauthorized use of computer

• 482 (1) Every person or entity is guilty of an offence that, fraudulently and with the intention of affecting the results or disrupting the conduct of an election, nomination contest or leadership contest,

  • (a) by means of an electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, intercepts or causes to be intercepted, directly or indirectly, any function of a computer system;

  • (b) uses or causes to be used, directly or indirectly, a computer system with intent to

    • (i) commit an offence under paragraph (a),

    • (ii) destroy or alter computer data,

    • (iii) render computer data meaningless, useless or ineffective,

    • (iv) obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the lawful use of computer data, or

    • (v) obstruct, interrupt or interfere with a person or entity in the lawful use of computer data or deny access to computer data to a person or entity that is entitled to access to it;

  • (c) uses, possesses or traffics in, or permits another person or entity to have access to, a computer password that would enable a person or entity to commit an offence under paragraph (a) or (b); or

  • (d) attempts to commit any offence referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c).

• Marginal note:Words and expressions

  (2) Words and expressions used in subsection (1) have the same meaning as in subsection 342.1(2) of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:False statements

482.01 Every person or entity is guilty of an offence that makes or publishes, with the intention of affecting the results or disrupting the conduct of an election, a statement that they know is false or misleading in respect of

• (a) who may vote in an election, including who is qualified as an elector or may register as an elector;

• (b) the process by which an individual may register to vote;

• (c) where, when or the manner in which an individual may vote in an election, including at an advance poll or by special ballot;

• (d) whom an individual may vote for at an election;

• (e) the process by which an individual becomes a candidate;

• (f) the process by which votes at an election are counted or the results are validated; or

• (g) the preliminary, validated or official results of an election.