Political Financing Handbook for Leadership Contestants and Financial Agents (EC 20195) – October 2015

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Table of Contents

• About This Document
  • Contact information
• Tables and Reminders
  • Important deadlines for the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Contributions, loans and loan guarantees limits
  • Transfers – types and rules
  • Reporting requirements for the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Important reminders for leadership contestants, financial agents and leadership campaign agents
• STARTING THE LEADERSHIP CONTESTANT'S CAMPAIGN
  • 1.1 Notice of leadership contest
  • 1.2 How to become a leadership contestant
    • Definition
    • Eligibility
    • Registration process
    • The leadership contestant's responsibilities and obligations
  • 1.3 What has to be done at the beginning of the leadership contest
    • Appoint a financial agent
      • Definition
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The financial agent's responsibilities and obligations
    • Appoint leadership campaign agents
      • Definition
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The leadership campaign agent's responsibilities and obligations
    • Appoint an auditor
      • Definition
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The auditor's responsibilities and obligations
    • Open a bank account
• LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN INFLOWS
  • 2.1 Contributions
    • Definitions
      • What is a contribution?
      • Who can contribute?
      • Monetary contribution
      • Non-monetary contribution
      • What is commercial value?
      • Directed contribution
      • Volunteer labour
  • 2.2 Loans
    • Getting a loan
      • Loans from financial institutions
      • Loans from individuals
    • Demand loan
    • Overdraft and line of credit
  • 2.3 Administering contributions and loans
    • Contribution rules
      • Contributor identification
      • Ineligible contributions
      • Returning ineligible contributions
      • Anonymous contributions
      • Ticketed fundraising
      • Sponsorship or advertising
    • Administering contributions
      • Accepting contributions
      • Recording anonymous contributions
      • Issuing contribution receipts
      • Recording directed contributions
      • What to keep in mind when administering contributions
    • Administering loans
      • Loan principal and interest
      • Interest on loans from individuals
      • Repaying a loan
  • 2.4 Transfers received
    • Definition
    • Transfer types
    • Transfers to the leadership contestant
  • 2.5 Regulated and unregulated inflows
    • Contributions and loans
    • Non-monetary contributions
  • 2.6 Other cash inflows
• LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN OUTFLOWS
  • 3.1 Leadership campaign expenses
    • Definition
    • Determining when an expense is incurred
  • Leadership campaign expenses
    • Advertising expenses
    • Internet communications
    • Assets
    • Renting a campaign office
    • Surveys
    • Compensation paid to the financial agent or other campaign workers
    • Expenses of volunteers
    • Expenses of senators and elected Members
  • Use of parliamentary resources
    • Compensation
    • Elected Members' websites
  • 3.2 Contestant's personal expenses
    • Definition
    • Incremental expenses
  • Contestant's personal expense categories
    • Travel and living
    • Child care
    • Care for a person with a physical or mental incapacity
    • Expenses related to a disability
    • Other personal expenses
  • 3.3 Transfers sent
    • Transfers sent by the contestant's campaign
  • 3.4 Administering leadership campaign expenses
    • Who can incur expenses?
    • Who can pay expenses?
    • Paying expenses incurred outside the contest period
    • Non-monetary contributions or transfers are also recorded as expenses
    • Invoices
    • Property or services provided by the registered party or a registered association
    • Claims and loans repayment
    • Administering the leadership contestant's personal expenses
    • Supporting documentation
• REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
  • 4.1 Reporting timeline
  • 4.2 Documents to be filed
    • Documents to be filed before contest day
      • Leadership Contestant's Registration Return
      • Leadership Contestant's Interim Campaign Return
    • Documents to be filed within six months after contest day
      • Leadership Contestant's Campaign Return
      • Leadership Contestant's Statement of Personal Expenses
      • Auditor's Report
  • 4.3 Submission to Elections Canada
    • Filing deadline and extensions
      • Documents not eligible for extension
      • Court extension
• CLOSING THE LEADERSHIP CONTESTANT'S CAMPAIGN
  • 5.1 Managing unpaid claims and loans
    • Update after final payment of claim or loan within 36 months after contest day
    • Leadership Contestant's Statement of Unpaid Claims and Loans 18 or 36 Months After the End of the Leadership Contest
    • Update after final payment of claim or loan more than 36 months after contest day
  • 5.2 Filing an amended leadership contestant's return
    • Corrections or revisions requested by Elections Canada
    • Corrections or revisions requested by the leadership contestant or the financial agent
  • 5.3 Disposing of surplus
    • Definition
    • Notice of estimated surplus sent by Elections Canada
    • If financial agent is aware of a surplus
    • How to dispose of a surplus
    • Leadership Contestant's Statement of Surplus / Amended Campaign Return
  • 5.4 Closing the campaign bank account

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