Strong and Free Elections Act (S.C. 2026, c. 20)
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Assented to 2026-06-18
PART 12000, c. 9Canada Elections Act (continued)
Amendments to the Act (continued)
27 Subsection 378(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):
(e) expenses related to security.
28 Section 384.2 of the Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:
Reports
29 Subsection 384.3(13) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Publication of reports
(13) The Chief Electoral Officer shall publish reports provided under subsections (1), (6) and (8), and any corrected or revised versions of those reports, as soon as feasible after receiving them, in the manner that he or she considers appropriate. The reports that are published must limit the information on the location referred to in paragraph (2)(a) to the municipality, or its equivalent, and the province in which the event took place.
30 Section 384.4 of the Act and the heading before it are repealed.
31 Paragraph 385(2)(k) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(k) the party’s policy for the protection of personal information; and
32 Section 387 of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (b), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (c):
(d) the Chief Electoral Officer is satisfied that the party’s policy for the protection of personal information meets the requirements set out in subsection 446.6(1).
33 Subsection 405(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Changes in information
405 (1) Within 30 days after the day on which there is a change in the information in respect of a registered party or an eligible party in the registry of political parties, the party shall report the change to the Chief Electoral Officer in writing. The report shall be certified by the party’s leader or chief agent.
34 Paragraph 406(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) a statement certified by its leader or chief agent confirming the validity of the information concerning the party in the registry of political parties; or
35 Section 432 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Measures taken
(2.1) If section 372.2 applies to the registered party, the financial transactions return shall set out the measures that the chief agent of the registered party has taken in accordance with that section.
36 (1) Section 446.6 of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (d), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (e) and by adding the following after paragraph (e):
(f) require the party to protect the personal information that is under its control through physical, organizational and technological security safeguards with a level of protection proportionate to the sensitivity of the personal information;
(g) require the party to take appropriate steps in the case of the loss of, unauthorized access to or unauthorized disclosure of personal information that is under its control as a result of a breach of its security safeguards, including by, as soon as feasible, informing the individual whose personal information has been lost, accessed or disclosed if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe the breach creates a real risk of significant harm to the individual;
(h) require the party to ensure, by contract or otherwise, that any person or entity to which it transfers personal information provides a level of protection of the personal information equivalent to that which the party is required to provide under the policy;
(i) require the privacy officer or their delegate to attend at least one meeting per calendar year relating to the protection of personal information held by the Chief Electoral Officer; and
(j) prohibit the party, as well as any person or entity acting on the party’s behalf, including the party’s candidates, electoral district associations, officers, agents, employees, volunteers and representatives, from
(i) providing false or misleading information to individuals about the purposes for which the party collects personal information,
(ii) selling personal information under the party’s control, or
(iii) disclosing personal information under the party’s control to the public for the purpose of causing harm.
(2) Section 446.6 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 446.6(1) and is amended by adding the following:
Marginal note:Real risk of significant harm — factors
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(g), the factors that are relevant to determining whether a breach of security safeguards creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual include
(a) the sensitivity of the personal information involved in the breach; and
(b) the probability that the personal information has been, is being or will be misused.
Marginal note:Definition of significant harm
(3) For the purposes of this section, significant harm includes bodily harm, humiliation, damage to reputation or relationships, loss of employment, business or professional opportunities, financial loss, identity theft, negative effects on the credit record and damage to or loss of property.
37 Section 475.4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Measures taken
(2.1) If section 372.2 applies to the registered association, the financial transactions return shall set out the measures that the financial agent of the registered association has taken in accordance with that section.
38 Section 476.75 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Measures taken
(2.1) If section 372.2 applies to the nomination contestant, the nomination campaign return shall set out the measures that the financial agent of the nomination contestant has taken in accordance with that section.
39 (1) The portion of section 477.2 of the English version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Official agent — ineligibility
477.2 The following persons are ineligible to be an official agent for a candidate:
(2) Section 477.2 of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(b.1) the official agent of any other candidate in the same electoral district in respect of the same election;
40 (1) Subparagraph 477.59(2)(a.4)(ii) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(ii) an indication of which of those expenses are expenses referred to in any of paragraphs 378(1)(c) to (e), and
(2) Section 477.59 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Measures taken
(2.1) If section 372.2 applies to the candidate, the electoral campaign return shall set out the measures that the official agent of the candidate has taken in accordance with that section.
41 (1) Paragraph 477.73(3)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) 60% of the candidate’s paid personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses or expenses referred to in any of paragraphs 378(1)(c) to (e),
(2) Subsection 477.73(3) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (e), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the following after paragraph (f):
(g) 65% — to a maximum of $3,250 — of the candidate’s paid expenses referred to in paragraph 378(1)(e).
42 (1) Paragraph 477.74(2)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) 60% of the candidate’s paid personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses and expenses referred to in any of paragraphs 378(1)(c) to (e),
(2) Subsection 477.74(2) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (e), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the following after paragraph (f):
(g) 65% — to a maximum of $3,250 — of the candidate’s paid expenses referred to in paragraph 378(1)(e).
43 (1) Paragraph 477.741(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) 60% of the candidate’s personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses and expenses referred to in any of paragraphs 378(1)(c) to (e), that were paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1),
(2) Section 477.741 of the Act is amended by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(c) 65% of the total of the candidate’s expenses referred to in paragraph 378(1)(e) — to a maximum of $3,250 — as set out in their electoral campaign return, that were paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1).
44 Subsection 477.94(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Exception
(3) Subsection (2) does not prohibit the Commissioner from inspecting the statements referred to in that subsection, and any of those statements may be provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions and produced by the Director for the purpose of a prosecution for an offence under this Act or for a conspiracy to commit, an attempt to commit, being an accessory after the fact in relation to, or any counselling in relation to, an offence under this Act.
45 Section 478.8 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Measures taken
(2.1) If section 372.2 applies to the leadership contestant, the leadership campaign return shall set out the measures that the financial agent of the leadership contestant has taken in accordance with that section.
46 The Act is amended by adding the following before section 480:
Marginal note:Application
479.1 Sections 480 to 482.1 apply inside and outside Canada.
47 Subsection 480(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Obstruction, etc., of electoral process
480 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, with the intention of delaying or obstructing the electoral process, contravenes this Act, otherwise than by committing an offence under subsection (2) or any of sections 480.1 to 482.1 or contravening a provision referred to in any of sections 484 to 499.
48 Section 480.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Impersonation
480.1 (1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, with intent to mislead,
(a) falsely represents themselves to be any of the persons referred to in paragraph (2);
(b) causes anyone to falsely represent themselves to be any of those persons;
(c) creates or causes to be created an image that is likely to be mistaken for an image of any of those persons;
(d) creates or causes to be created an imitation of the voice of any of those persons that is likely to be mistaken for the voice of the persons or an audio recording that falsely represents anything said by any of those persons;
(e) distributes, transmits or publishes an image referred to in paragraph (c) or imitation or audio recording referred to in paragraph (d).
Marginal note:Persons
(2) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(a) to (e), the persons are the following:
(a) the Chief Electoral Officer, a member of the Chief Electoral Officer’s staff or a person who is authorized to act on the Chief Electoral Officer’s behalf;
(b) an election officer or a person who is authorized to act on an election officer’s behalf;
(c) a person who is authorized to act on behalf of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, including the Commissioner;
(d) a leader of a registered party or eligible party;
(e) a person who is authorized to act on behalf of a registered party or registered association;
(f) a candidate or a person who is authorized to act on a candidate’s behalf;
(g) a potential candidate;
(h) a prospective candidate;
(i) a nomination contestant; and
(j) a leadership contestant.
Marginal note:Exception
(3) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (1) if they establish that the image, imitation, audio recording or representation was manifestly for the purpose of parody or satire.
49 Subsections 481(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Misleading publications
481 (1) Every person or entity is guilty of an offence that distributes, transmits or publishes any material that purports to be made, distributed, transmitted or published by or under the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or a returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant, if
(a) the person or entity was not authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or that returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant to distribute, transmit or publish it; and
(b) the person or entity distributes, transmits or publishes it with the intent of misleading the public into believing that it was made, distributed, transmitted or published by or under the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner or that returning officer, political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant.
Marginal note:Factors
(2) In determining whether a person or entity has committed an offence under subsection (1), the court may consider whether the material included the use of
(a) a name, logo, social media account identifier, username or domain name that is distinctive and commonly associated with the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner, a returning officer or the political party, nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant, as the case may be; or
(b) the name, voice, image or signature of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner, a returning officer or the nomination contestant, candidate, potential candidate, prospective candidate or leadership contestant or of a public figure who is associated with the political party.
50 The portion of subsection 482(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Unauthorized use of computer
482 (1) Every person or entity is guilty of an offence that, fraudulently and with the intention of affecting the results or disrupting the conduct of an election, nomination contest or leadership contest,
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