Site Menu2016–17 Report on Plans and Priorities
Details on Transfer Payment Programs
| Name of transfer payment program | Reimbursements to eligible candidates and political parties (election year – 2015–16) and subsidies to auditors of candidates (2015–16) and registered associations (ongoing). |
|---|---|
| Start date | 1974 |
| End date | Ongoing |
| Type of transfer payment | Other type of transfer payment |
| Type of appropriation | Statutory authority, as per the Canada Elections Act |
| Fiscal year for terms and conditions | 2014–15 |
| Strategic outcome | An Accessible Electoral Framework That Canadians Trust and Use |
| Link to department's Program Alignment Architecture | Regulation of Electoral Activities |
| Description | Elections Canada's role is to administer the Canada Elections Act (the Act), which has three main objectives: fairness, transparency and participation. To promote fairness and participation, the Act provides for partial reimbursement of paid election expenses and personal expenses of candidates (for by-elections and general elections), partial reimbursement of paid election expenses of registered parties (for general elections only) and a subsidy for candidate and registered association audit fees. To be eligible for partial reimbursement of election expenses, candidates must be elected or obtain at least 10 percent of the valid votes cast in their electoral district. Registered parties must obtain at least 2 percent of the valid votes cast nationally or 5 percent of the valid votes cast in electoral districts where the party has endorsed candidates. A subsidy not exceeding $1,500 is sent directly to the external auditors of candidates and to auditors of qualified registered associations. To qualify for an audit subsidy, an association must have accepted contributions or incurred expenses totalling $5,000 or more during the year. |
| Expected results | Political entities have access to statutory payments in accordance with the law. |
| Fiscal year of last completed evaluation | Not applicable – Statutory payments as determined by Parliament. |
| Decision following the results of last evaluation | Not applicable |
| Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation | Not applicable |
| General targeted recipient groups | Candidates, political parties, and auditors of candidates and registered associations. |
| Initiatives to engage applicants and recipients | Elections Canada provides guidance material on its website and regular training sessions to educate its recipients. |
| Type of transfer payment | 2015–16 Forecast spending |
2016–17 Planned spending |
2017–18 Planned spending |
2018–19 Planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total grants | ||||
| Total contributions | ||||
| Total other types of transfer payments | 68,046,926 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 |
| Total program | 68,046,926 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 |
The significantly higher 2015–16 forecast spending is mostly explained by the reimbursements of electoral expenses and audit fees from the 42nd general election held on October 19, 2015. The reimbursement of election expenses to eligible candidates and political parties is a preliminary estimate and has not been adjusted for a longer election period.* Elections Canada will be in a position to better estimate the reimbursement once election returns have been filed.**
* The election period was 78 days. The minimum is 36 days. Recent amendments to the Canada Elections Act provided that spending limits are adjusted proportionally to campaign's length.
** Candidates' official agents must submit audited returns of their election expenses and contributions within four months of election day (by February 19, 2016), while a registered political party must submit an audited report on its election expenses within eight months of election day (by June 19, 2016).