Allocation of paid broadcasting time [C.E.A., s. 335(1), 338(1), 338(3)-(5)]

• In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the second day before polling day, every broadcaster must, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and the conditions of its licence, make available for purchase by all registered parties for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of the registered parties, six and one-half hours of broadcasting time during prime time on its facilities.

• In allocating broadcasting time, the Broadcasting Arbitrator must give equal weight to:

  • the percentage of seats in the House of Commons held by each of the registered parties at the previous general election; and

  • the percentage of the popular vote at the previous general election of each registered party.

• The Broadcasting Arbitrator must also give half the weight given to each of the factors referred to above, to the number of candidates endorsed by each of the registered parties at the previous general election, expressed as a percentage of all candidates endorsed by all registered parties at that election.

• In no case must the Broadcasting Arbitrator allocate more than 50 percent of the total of the broadcasting time to a registered party.

• If the calculation would give more than 50 percent of the total of the broadcasting time to a registered party, the Broadcasting Arbitrator must allocate the excess amount to the other registered parties entitled to broadcasting time on a proportionate basis.

• If the Broadcasting Arbitrator considers that an allocation would be unfair to a registered party or contrary to the public interest, the allocation may be modified, in any manner that the Broadcasting Arbitrator considers appropriate.

Allocation of free broadcasting time [C.E.A., s. 345(1)-(2)]

• In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the second day before polling day at that election, every network operator must, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and to the conditions of its licence, make available, at no cost, to the registered parties and eligible parties, for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of those parties, broadcasting time if the network formed and operated by the network operator:

  • reaches a majority of Canadians whose mother tongue is the same as that in which the network broadcasts;

  • is licensed with respect to more than a particular series of programs or type of programming; and

  • does not involve a distribution undertaking as defined in the Broadcasting Act.

• The minimum amount of broadcasting time that a network operator is to make available must be no less than the amount of free broadcasting time made available by it at the last general election and must be made available as follows:

  • two minutes to every registered party and every eligible party; and

  • the remainder to all registered parties that have been allocated any of the broadcasting time to be made available under the Act and all eligible parties that have requested broadcasting time under the Act in the proportion that their allocated or requested purchasable broadcasting time bears to the total broadcasting time allocated or requested under the Act.

Rates charged [C.E.A., s. 348(a)]

• No person must charge a registered party, any other political party or a candidate or a person acting on behalf of any of them:

  • a rate for broadcasting time made available to the party or candidate, in the period beginning on the issue of the writ and ending at midnight on the second day before polling day, that exceeds the lowest rate charged by the person for an equal amount of equivalent time on the same facilities made available to any other person at any time within that period.

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Rates charged [E.A., s. 226.2(1)-(3)]

• In the period beginning on the 21st day before the day immediately before polling day at an election and ending on the day before polling day, a person, corporation or trade union must not:

• charge a registered party or candidate, or a person acting with its or his or her knowledge and consent, a rate for broadcasting time on a broadcasting undertaking that exceeds the lowest rate charged by him or her or it for an equal amount of equivalent time on the same facilities made available to another person in that period; or
• charge a registered party or candidate, or a person acting with its or his or her knowledge and consent, a rate for an advertisement in a periodical publication published or dispersed and made public that exceeds the lowest rate charged by him or her or it for an equal amount of equivalent advertising space in the same issue of the periodical or in another issue published or disbursed and made public in that period.

• In addition, the rates charged a registered party or candidate for broadcasting time on a broadcasting undertaking or for an advertisement in a periodical publication must be the same as the rate charged for an equal amount of equivalent broadcasting time or an equal amount of equivalent advertising space outside that period.
• The rates must be the same for all registered parties or candidates.

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Rates charged [E.E.A., s. 17(3)]

• No person or corporation must:

• charge a registered party, registered candidate, or any person acting with its, his or her knowledge and consent, a rate for broadcasting time on any broadcasting undertaking in the election period, that exceeds the lowest rate charged by the person or corporation for an equal amount of equivalent time on the same facilities made available to any other person in that period; or
• charge a registered party, registered candidate, or any person acting with its, his or her knowledge and consent, a rate for an advertisement in a periodical publication published or distributed and made public in the election period that exceeds the lowest rate charged by the person or corporation for an equal amount of equivalent advertising space in the same issue of the periodical or in any other issue thereof published or distributed and made public in that period.

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Allocation of free broadcasting time [P.P.F.A., s. 48(1)]

• Every broadcasting undertaking and every publisher of a newspaper, periodical or other printed matter may, free of charge, make broadcasting time on radio or television or advertising space in a newspaper, periodical or other printed matter, available to registered political parties, registered district associations or registered independent candidates, if such a service is offered on an equitable basis, qualitatively and quantitatively, to all such parties, associations or independent candidates.

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Allocation of free broadcasting time [E.A., s. 423]

• During an election period, a radio, television or cable broadcaster and the owner of a newspaper, periodical or other publication may make air time on the radio or television or space in the newspaper, periodical or other publication available free of charge to the leaders of the parties and to candidates, provided he or she offers such service equitably as to quality and quantity to all the candidates of the same electoral division or to all the leaders of the parties represented in the National Assembly or which obtained at least three percent of the valid votes at the last general election.

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Rates charged [E.F.A., s. 37(6)]

• During an election campaign, no person or corporation must charge a party, constituency association or candidate registered under the Act, or any person, corporation or trade union acting with the party's, association's or candidate's consent, a rate for making campaign advertising available in any broadcast, print, electronic or other medium that exceeds the lowest rate the person or corporation charges anyone else for the same amount of equivalent advertising space or time during that period.

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Rates charged [E.A., s. 232]

• An individual or organization must not charge a registered political party, registered constituency association or candidate a rate for election advertising in a periodical publication or on radio or television that exceeds the lowest rate charged by the individual or organization for equivalent advertising in the same medium during the same campaign period.

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