Political Financing Handbook for Leadership Contestants and Financial Agents (EC 20195) – draft – October 2021
This document is Elections Canada's draft guideline OGI 2021-08.
Click on the link for the latest Political Financing Handbook for Leadership Contestants and Financial Agents.
1. Reference Tables and Timelines
This chapter presents quick reference tools for leadership contestants and financial agents. It covers the following topics:
- Starting the leadership contestant's campaign
- Important deadlines for the leadership contestant's campaign
- Role and appointment process庸inancial agent, leadership campaign agents and auditor
- Withdrawal of a leadership contestant
- Closing the leadership contestant's campaign
- Limits on contributions, loans and loan guarantees
- Transfers葉ypes and rules
- Important reminders for leadership contestants, financial agents and leadership campaign agents
Starting the leadership contestant's campaign
Party gives notice of a leadership contest | If a registered party decides to hold a leadership contest, the party's chief agent has to notify Elections Canada about the start and end dates using the General Form由egistered Party Leadership Contest. Elections Canada publishes a notice with that information on its website. |
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Check the eligibility rules | The registered party sets the requirements that any person must meet to be a leadership contestant. Under the Canada Elections Act, people in the following positions have to step down once they become leadership contestants:
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Appoint financial agent and auditor | The leadership contestant must appoint a financial agent before:
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Open bank account | The financial agent has to open a separate bank account to be used exclusively for the contestant's campaign. This could happen before or after the contestant's registration. The account has to be with a Canadian financial institution or an authorized foreign bank, as defined by the Bank Act. The financial agent must be named as the account holder, as follows: (name), financial agent. For example: "Peter Raymond, financial agent". It is also acceptable to add the contestant's name to the name of the bank account. For example: "Peter Raymond, financial agent for Anne Thomas". Note: The Access to Banking Services by a Leadership Contestant's Financial Agent package, available on the Elections Canada website, provides information and a template memorandum from the contestant to facilitate opening a campaign bank account. All monetary transactions in relation to the campaign have to go through the campaign bank account, except when personal or litigation expenses are paid directly by a person or group using non-campaign funds (see chapters 9 and 11). The bank account has to remain open until the campaign fulfills all financial obligations. |
Start incurring expenses and accepting contributions, loans or transfers | The campaign can start incurring expenses and accepting contributions, loans and non-monetary transfers (offered equally to all contestants) before the start date of the leadership contest, as long as the contestant has a financial agent and a bank account. However, the contestant has to be registered with Elections Canada (see next step) to accept directed contributions. |
Register with Elections Canada | To apply for registration, the contestant has to fill out the General Form–Registered Party Leadership Contestant and send it to Elections Canada. The form explains what information and signatures to include, notably:
From a political financing perspective, once a contestant is registered, they are deemed to have been a leadership contestant from the date a contribution or loan was accepted or a leadership campaign expense was incurred. |
Important deadlines for the leadership contestant's campaign
Contestant's campaign starts
Registration
Financial agent or contestant sends Elections Canada:
- General Form由egistered Party Leadership Contestant
- Leadership Contestant's Statement of Contributions and Loans Received Before the First Day of the ContestNote 4
3 weeks before
Financial agent sends Elections Canada:
- Leadership Contestant's Interim Campaign Return (first return, if applicable)Note 5
2 days before
Financial agent sends Elections Canada:
- Leadership Contestant's Interim Campaign Return (second return, if applicable)Note 5
Contest day
5 months after
Financial agent receives from contestant:
- Leadership Contestant's Statement of Expenses (with all supporting documents)
6 months after
Financial agent sends Elections Canada:
- Leadership Contestant's Campaign Return (with all required documents)
- Leadership Contestant's Statement of Expenses (with all supporting documents)
- Auditor's report (if applicable)Note 6
Note: If a claim or loan is paid in full any time after the campaign return is filed, the financial agent must send an updated campaign return to Elections Canada within 30 days.
19 months after
Financial agent sends Elections Canada:
- Leadership Contestant's Statement of Unpaid Claims and Loans 18 or 36 Months After Contest Day (if applicable)Note 7
37 months after
Financial agent sends Elections Canada:
- Leadership Contestant's Statement of Unpaid Claims and Loans 18 or 36 Months After Contest Day (if applicable)Note 7
Return to source of Note 1 Must be appointed before contributions, transfers or loans are accepted or leadership campaign expenses are incurred.
Return to source of Note 2 Must be appointed before registering as a leadership contestant.
Return to source of Note 3 Required before any funds are accepted (by way of contributions, transfers or loans) or spent by the campaign.
Return to source of Note 4 The contestant's campaign may not accept directed contributions until the contestant's registration has been confirmed.
Return to source of Note 5 Required if the campaign accepted contributions totalling more than $10,000, or incurred leadership campaign expenses totalling more than $10,000 (note that transfers to affiliated political entities are not leadership campaign expenses). If the threshold is reached after the first reporting period, one interim campaign return must be submitted for the whole period.
Return to source of Note 6 Required if the campaign accepted contributions totalling $10,000 or more, or incurred leadership campaign expenses totalling $10,000 or more (note that transfers to affiliated political entities are not leadership campaign expenses).
Return to source of Note 7 Required if the campaign has unpaid claims and loans.
Role and appointment process—financial agent
Leadership contestant's financial agent
Role summary
- The financial agent is responsible for administering the contestant's financial transactions and reporting those transactions to Elections Canada as required by the Canada Elections Act.
- The contestant may have only one financial agent at a time.
- The financial agent's role continues until the contestant's campaign fulfills all financial reporting requirements.
Who is eligible? | Yes/No |
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Canadian citizen who is at least 18 years old | Yes |
Corporation or partnership | No |
Leadership contestant | No |
Election officer or member of the staff of a returning officer | No |
Undischarged bankrupt | No |
Auditor appointed as required by the Canada Elections Act | No |
Person who does not have the full capacity to enter into contracts in the province or territory in which the person ordinarily resides (e.g. a person with a diminished mental capacity) | No |
Any other person or group not mentioned above | No |
Appointment process
- The contestant has to appoint a financial agent before accepting contributions, loans or transfers, incurring leadership campaign expenses or applying for registration.
- The financial agent has to sign a statement consenting to act in that capacity.
- If for any reason the financial agent is no longer able to continue in that role, the contestant must appoint a new financial agent without delay and notify Elections Canada within 30 days. The notice has to include a signed consent from the new financial agent.
- Although it is not a legal requirement, a financial agent should be experienced in managing finances. The role requires a strong ability to control, record and administer financial transactions as well as to create financial reports.
Role and appointment process—leadership campaign agents
Leadership contestant's leadership campaign agents
Role summary
- Leadership campaign agents may be authorized by the leadership contestant to do one or more of the following:
- accept contributions or loans
- accept or send transfers
- incur or pay leadership campaign expenses
- issue contribution receipts, other than for directed contributions received through the party
Who is eligible? | Yes/No |
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Canadian citizen who is at least 18 years old | Yes |
Corporation or partnership | No |
Leadership contestant | No |
Election officer or member of the staff of a returning officer | No |
Undischarged bankrupt | No |
Auditor appointed as required by the Canada Elections Act | No |
Person who does not have the full capacity to enter into contracts in the province or territory in which the person ordinarily resides (e.g. a person with a diminished mental capacity) | No |
Any other person or group not mentioned above | No |
Appointment process
- The appointment of leadership campaign agents is optional.
- The leadership contestant may appoint any number of leadership campaign agents at any time.
- Within 30 days of appointing one or more agents, the contestant has to send Elections Canada the form Report of Appointment, Update or Removal—Leadership Campaign Agents. This form:
- lists the names and addresses of the new leadership campaign agents
- specifies the terms and conditions of the appointments
- includes the financial agent's signed declaration
Role and appointment process—auditor
Leadership contestant's auditor
Role summary
- If the campaign accepts contributions totalling $10,000 or more, or incurs leadership campaign expenses totalling $10,000 or more, the auditor has to examine the campaign's financial records and give an opinion in a report as to whether the financial return presents fairly the information contained in the financial records on which it is based.
- The auditor has a right to access all documents of the campaign, and may require the contestant or the contestant's financial agent to provide any information or explanation that is necessary to enable the auditor to prepare the report.
Who is eligible? | Yes/No |
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Person who is a member in good standing of a corporation, an association or an institute of provincially accredited professional accountants (CPA designation)* | Yes |
Partnership of which every partner is a member in good standing of a corporation, an association or an institute of provincially accredited professional accountants (CPA designation)* | Yes |
Candidate or their official agent | No |
Election officer or member of the staff of a returning officer | No |
Chief agent of a registered party or an eligible party | No |
Registered agent of a registered party | No |
Electoral district agent of a registered association | No |
Leadership contestant, their financial agent or a leadership campaign agent | No |
Nomination contestant or their financial agent | No |
Financial agent of a registered third party | No |
Any other person or group not mentioned above | No |
Appointment process
- The leadership contestant has to appoint an auditor before applying for registration.
- The auditor has to sign a statement consenting to act in that capacity.
- If for any reason the auditor is no longer able to continue in that role, the contestant must appoint a new auditor without delay and notify Elections Canada within 30 days. The notice has to include a signed consent from the new auditor.
- The contestant may have only one auditor at a time
*Provincially or territorially legislated accounting bodies may require auditors to meet other professional criteria in order to perform this role, such as holding a public accounting licence in the province or territory where the political entity is based. This should be discussed with the auditor before the appointment.
Withdrawal of a leadership contestant
Voluntary or involuntary withdrawal of a leadership contestant
Voluntary
If the leadership contestant chooses to withdraw from the contest after registration, the contestant has to send a signed statement to Elections Canada indicating the date of withdrawal.
This should be done using the General Form由egistered Party Leadership Contestant.
Involuntary
If the registered party withdraws its acceptance of a leadership contestant after their registration, the party's chief agent has to send a signed statement to Elections Canada indicating the date of withdrawal.
This should be done using the General Form由egistered Party Leadership Contest.
Reporting requirements after withdrawal
Registered leadership contestants who withdraw or are withdrawn still have to fulfill the reporting requirements up to the date of withdrawal.
They must submit the Leadership Contestant's Campaign Return to Elections Canada, but they are relieved of filing the Leadership Contestant's Interim Campaign Return for any period after the withdrawal.
Example
A leadership contest is being held on July 31. The first interim campaign return is due three weeks before the end of the leadership contest, on July 10. A leadership contestant withdraws on July 9. The contestant does not have to file any interim campaign returns but must still file the final campaign return.
Note: After the contestant withdraws, the campaign can continue accepting contributions to satisfy any outstanding financial obligations.
For details about financial reporting, see Chapter 13, Reporting.
Closing the leadership contestant's campaign
Fulfill reporting obligations | The leadership contestant's campaign must fulfill all reporting obligations before it can close the campaign. See the Reporting obligations after contest day and Additional reporting tables in Chapter 13, Reporting. |
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Receive auditor's subsidy (if applicable) | If the campaign has to submit an auditor's report, Elections Canada will pay a subsidy directly to the auditor once it has received all documents and reviewed the contestant's return. See the Auditor's fees section in Chapter 12, Other Leadership Campaign Expenses. |
Manage unpaid claims and loans | Claims and loans must be paid within 36 months after contest day. If a claim or loan is still unpaid 36 months after contest day, the financial agent or the contestant has to seek authorization from Elections Canada or a judge before paying it. See Chapter 14, Managing Unpaid Claims and Loans. |
File amended return(s) | An amended contestant's return has to be filed with Elections Canada to correct errors or omissions, or to report new transactions. Corrections or revisions might be requested by Elections Canada, or by the contestant or financial agent. See the Additional reporting table in Chapter 13, Reporting. |
Dispose of surplus | After all financial obligations have been met, the campaign must dispose of any surplus of funds (including from the sale of its capital assets) and fulfill the surplus reporting obligations. The surplus must be transferred to the registered party or a registered association of the party. See Chapter 15, Disposing of Surplus. |
Close bank account | Once all unpaid claims, loans, other financial obligations and any surplus have been dealt with, the financial agent has to close the campaign bank account. The financial agent has to send the final bank statement to Elections Canada. |
Limits on contributions, loans and loan guarantees
Political entity | 2022 annual limit | Limit per election called between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2022 |
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To each registered party | $1,675* | n/a |
In total to all the registered associations, nomination contestants and candidates of each registered party | $1,675* | n/a |
In total to all leadership contestants in a particular contest | $1,675* | n/a |
To each independent candidate | n/a | $1,675* |
Notes
- The contribution limits apply to total contributions, the unpaid balance of loans made during the contribution period, and the amount of any loan guarantees made during the contribution period that an individual is still liable for. The sum of these three amounts cannot at any time exceed the contribution limit.
- A nomination contestant is permitted to give an additional $1,000 in total per contest in contributions, loans and loan guarantees to their own campaign.
- A candidate is permitted to give a total of $5,000 in contributions, loans and loan guarantees to their campaign. A candidate is also permitted to give an additional $1,675* in total per year in contributions, loans and loan guarantees to other candidates, registered associations and nomination contestants of each party. (This includes contributions to the registered association in the candidate's electoral district and contributions to the candidate's own nomination campaign.)
- A leadership contestant is permitted to give a total of $25,000 in contributions, loans and loan guarantees to their campaign. A leadership contestant is also permitted to give an additional $1,675* in total per year in contributions, loans and loan guarantees to other leadership contestants.
*The limits increase by $25 on January 1 in each subsequent year.
Transfers—types and rules
This table shows the allowable monetary and non-monetary transfers between related registered political entities.
TO | ||||||||||
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FROM | Nomination Contestant | Leadership Contestant | Candidate | Registered Electoral District Association | Registered Party | |||||
Monetary | Non-monetary | Monetary | Non-monetary | Monetary | Non-monetary | Monetary | Non-monetary | Monetary | Non-monetary | |
Nomination Contestant | No | No | No | No | YesNote 1 | No | YesNote 2 | No | Yes | No |
Leadership Contestant | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Candidate | YesNote 3 | YesNote 3 | No | No | NoNote 4 | NoNote 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Registered Electoral District Association | No | YesNote 5 | No | YesNote 5 | YesNote 6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Registered Party | No | YesNote 5 | NoNote 7 | YesNote 5 | YesNote 6 | Yes | YesNote 8 | YesNote 8 | n/a | n/a |
Return to source of Note 1 A nomination contestant may transfer funds (but not property or services) to a candidate of the same party in the electoral district in which the nomination contest was held. After election day, monetary transfers are allowed only to pay claims and loans related to the candidate's campaign.
Return to source of Note 2 A nomination contestant can only transfer funds to the registered electoral district association that held the nomination contest.
Return to source of Note 3 Candidates may transfer property, services and funds to their own nomination contestant campaign for the same election.
Return to source of Note 4 Candidates in a superseded by-election may transfer property, services and funds to their campaign for the general election.
Return to source of Note 5 Non-monetary transfers must be offered equally to all contestants.
Return to source of Note 6 Monetary transfers other than trust funds are allowed. After election day, monetary transfers are allowed only to pay claims and loans related to the candidate's campaign.
Return to source of Note 7 Directed contributions are the only exception: they may be transferred to the leadership contestant.
Return to source of Note 8 Registered parties may transfer property, services and funds to electoral district associations, whether registered or not.
Note: Independent candidates may not send or accept transfers of funds, property or services to or from other political entities.
Important reminders for leadership contestants, financial agents and leadership campaign agents
DO | DON'T |
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*Exceptions: A person authorized in writing by the financial agent or by a leadership campaign agent can pay expenses out of petty cash. The leadership contestant can pay their travel and living expenses. Anyone can pay the contestant's personal and litigation expenses.
DO | DON'T |
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