Political Financing Handbook for Registered Parties and Chief Agents (EC 20231) – July 2015 – Archived Content

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Table of Contents

• About This Document
  • Contact information
• Tables and Reminders
  • Contributions, loans and loan guarantees limits
  • Transfers – types and rules
  • Reporting requirements
• Registering a Political Party
  • 1.1 The registration process
    • Definition
    • Registering with Elections Canada
      • Verifying the information
      • Eligibility for registration
      • Registry of Political Parties
      • Benefits of being a registered party
    • Obligations after registration
      • Establish a fiscal year
      • Reporting obligations
      • Advisory Committee of Political Parties
      • Provincial or territorial divisions of a registered party
  • 1.2 Deregistration
    • Introduction
    • Voluntary deregistration
    • Involuntary deregistration
    • Court-ordered deregistration
    • Process of deregistration
    • Obligations after deregistration
  • 1.3 Merger of registered parties
    • Application for merger
    • Consequences of merger
    • What happens with the registered associations of merging parties
    • Obligations after a merger
• Roles and Responsibilities
  • 2.1 Mandatory appointments
    • Party leader
      • Appointment process
      • The leader's responsibilities and obligations
    • Officers
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
    • Chief agent
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The chief agent's responsibilities and obligations
      • Best practices for financial management
    • Auditor
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The auditor's responsibilities and obligations
  • 2.2 Optional appointments
    • Registered agents
      • Eligibility
      • Appointment process
      • The registered agent's responsibilities and obligations
• Financial Administration
  • 3.1 Contributions
    • Definitions
      • What is a contribution?
      • Monetary contribution
      • Non-monetary contribution
      • What is commercial value?
      • Directed contribution
      • Volunteer labour
    • Contribution rules
      • Who can contribute?
      • Contributor identification
      • Ineligible contributions
      • Returning ineligible contributions
      • Anonymous contributions
      • Ticketed fundraising
      • Attending a party convention or a leadership convention
      • Sponsorship or advertising
    • Administering contributions
      • Accepting contributions
      • Recording anonymous contributions
      • Issuing contribution receipts
      • Administering directed contributions
      • What to keep in mind when administering contributions
  • 3.2 Loans
    • Getting a loan
      • Loans from financial institutions
      • Loans from a registered association of the party
      • Loans from individuals
      • Loan interest
      • Demand loan
      • Overdraft and line of credit
    • Administering loans
  • 3.3 Transfers
    • Definition
    • Transfer types
    • Incoming transfers
    • Outgoing transfers
    • Property or services provided by the registered party to a candidate, nomination contestant or leadership contestant
    • Administering transfers
  • 3.4 Expenses of registered party
    • Elections expenses
      • Definition
      • Limits on election expenses
      • How are the limits calculated?
      • Limits for by-elections
      • Limit increases for longer election period
      • Reimbursement of election expenses
      • Reduction of reimbursement amount
    • Election expense categories
      • Election advertising
      • Traditional election advertising
      • Election advertising on the Internet
      • Broadcasting time allocation
      • Voter contact calling services
      • Surveys and research
      • Intellectual property assets of the party
      • Pre-existing property
      • Office expenses
      • Leader's tour
      • Travel expenses
      • Expenses of senators and ministers or another candidate
      • Compensation
    • Administering the registered party's expenses
      • Expenses cannot be transferred
      • Who can incur expenses?
      • Who can pay expenses?
      • Non-monetary contributions and transfers are also recorded as expenses or assets
      • Invoices
      • Claims and loans repayment and reporting
      • Maintaining books and records
• Reporting Requirements
  • 4.1 Reporting timeline
  • 4.2 Mandatory documents and supporting documentation
    • Reporting after registration
    • Reporting changes in the registry information
    • Party members’ declarations
    • Annual reporting obligations
      • Declaration of the leader
      • Reporting to the Canada Revenue Agency
      • Annual statement of registry information
      • Registered Party Financial Transactions Quarterly Return
      • Registered Party Financial Transactions Annual Return
    • Event-based reporting obligations
      • Statement after a general election is called
      • Registered Party Return in Respect of General Election Expenses
      • Notice of a leadership contest
      • Reporting a nomination contest
      • Reporting directed contributions
    • Auditor's reports
  • 4.3 Submission to Elections Canada
    • Filing deadline and extensions
      • Documents not eligible for extension
      • Court extension
  • 4.4 Filing an amended financial return
    • Corrections or revisions requested by Elections Canada
    • Corrections or revisions requested by the registered party

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