Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9)

Marginal note:Prohibition — use of certain contributions

357.1 No third party shall use a contribution for the purpose of any of the following if the third party does not know the name and address of the contributor or is otherwise unable to determine within which class of contributor referred to in subsection 359(6) the contributor falls:

• (a) a partisan activity that is carried out during an election period;

• (b) an election advertising message that is transmitted during that period; and

• (c) an election survey that is conducted during that period and whose results the third party takes into account in its decisions concerning whether or not to organize and carry out partisan activities during that period or to transmit election advertising messages during that period.

358 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 232]

DIVISION 3Third Parties’ Bank Accounts, Registry of Third Parties and Third-Party Expenses Returns

Marginal note:Bank account

• 358.1 (1) A third party that is required to register under subsection 349.6(1) — or under subsection 353(1), if it was not required to register under subsection 349.6(1) — shall open a separate bank account for the sole purpose of its partisan activities that are carried out or to be carried out during a pre-election period or an election period, partisan advertising, election advertising and election surveys.

• Marginal note:Financial institution

  (2) The account shall be in a Canadian financial institution as defined in section 2 of the Bank Act, or in an authorized foreign bank as defined in that section that is not subject to the restrictions and requirements referred to in subsection 524(2) of that Act.

• Marginal note:Payments and receipts

  (3) All of the third party’s financial transactions in relation to its partisan activities referred to in subsection (1), partisan advertising, election advertising and election surveys that involve the payment or receipt of money are to be paid from or deposited to the account.

• Marginal note:Closure of bank account

  (4) After polling day, the third party shall close the account once all unpaid claims and any outstanding balance have been dealt with.

• Marginal note:Final statement of bank account

  (5) The third party shall, on closing the account, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the final statement of the account.

Marginal note:Registry of third parties

358.2 The Chief Electoral Officer shall maintain, for the period that he or she considers appropriate, a registry of registered third parties in which is recorded, in relation to each one, the information referred to in subsections 349.6(2), 349.8(4) and (5), 353(2) and 355(4) and (5).

Marginal note:Third-party expenses return

• 359 (1) Every third party that is required to be registered in accordance with subsection 349.6(1) or 353(1) shall file a third-party expenses return in the prescribed form with the Chief Electoral Officer within four months after polling day.

• Marginal note:Contents of return

  (2) The third-party expenses return shall contain

  • (a) in the case of a general election that is held on a day set in accordance with subsection 56.1(2) or section 56.2,

    • (i) a list of partisan activity expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the expenses relate,

    • (ii) a list of partisan advertising expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date and place of the transmission of the partisan advertising messages to which the expenses relate,

    • (iii) a list of election survey expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(2) and the date of the election surveys to which the expenses relate, and

    • (iv) a list of all partisan activity expenses, partisan advertising expenses and election survey expenses referred to in subsection 349.1(1) — other than those referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) — and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the partisan activity expenses relate, the date and place of the transmission of the partisan advertising messages to which the partisan advertising expenses relate and the date of the election surveys to which the election survey expenses relate;

  • (b) in the case of any general election,

    • (i) a list of partisan activity expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the expenses relate,

    • (ii) a list of election advertising expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date and place of the transmission of the election advertising messages to which the expenses relate,

    • (iii) a list of election survey expenses referred to in subsection 350(2) and the date of the election surveys to which the expenses relate, and

    • (iv) a list of all partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses and election survey expenses referred to in subsection 350(1) other than those referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the partisan activity expenses relate, the date and place of the transmission of the election advertising messages to which the election advertising expenses relate and the date of the election surveys to which the election survey expenses relate; and

  • (c) in the case of a by-election, a list of partisan activity expenses, election advertising expenses and election survey expenses referred to in subsection 350(4) and the date and place of the partisan activities to which the partisan activity expenses relate, the date and place of the transmission of the election advertising messages to which the election advertising expenses relate and the date of the election surveys to which the election survey expenses relate.

• Marginal note:When no expenses

  (3) If a third party has not incurred expenses referred to in paragraph (2)(a), (b) or (c), that fact shall be indicated in its third-party expenses return.

• Marginal note:Contributions

  (4) The third-party expenses return shall include

  • (a) the amount, by class of contributor, of contributions for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes that were received during the period beginning the day after polling day at the general election previous to the polling day referred to in subsection (1) and ending on that polling day referred to in that subsection;

  • (b) subject to paragraph (b.1), for each contributor who made contributions of a total amount of more than $200 for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes during the period referred to in paragraph (a), their name, address and class, and the amount and date of each contribution;

  • (b.1) in the case of a numbered company that is a contributor referred to in paragraph (b), the name of the chief executive officer or president of that company; and

  • (c) the amount, other than an amount of a contribution referred to in paragraph (a), that was paid out of the third party’s own funds for partisan activity expenses, partisan advertising expenses, election advertising expenses or election survey expenses.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (4.1) The third-party expenses return need not include any information referred to in subsection (4) that was included in a third-party expenses return that the third party previously filed under subsection (1) in respect of

  • (a) a by-election that was held after the general election referred to in paragraph (4)(a); or

  • (b) a general election for which the third party incurred expenses or received contributions between the day fixed under paragraph 57(1.2)(c) for polling day at the general election and polling day in an electoral district in which the election was postponed under subsection 59(4) or 77(1).

• Marginal note:Loans

  (5) For the purpose of subsection (4), a contribution includes a loan.

• Marginal note:Categories

  (6) For the purposes of paragraphs (4)(a) and (b), the following are the classes of contributor:

  • (a) individuals;

  • (b) businesses;

  • (c) commercial organizations;

  • (d) governments;

  • (e) trade unions;

  • (f) corporations without share capital other than trade unions; and

  • (g) unincorporated organizations or associations other than trade unions.

• Marginal note:Names to be provided

  (7) If the third party is unable to identify which contributions were received during the period referred to in paragraph (4)(a) for partisan activity, partisan advertising, election advertising or election survey purposes, the third-party expenses return shall include, subject to paragraph (4)(b.1), the names and addresses of every contributor who contributed a total of more than $200 to it during that period.

• Marginal note:Declaration

  (8) A third-party expenses return shall include a declaration that the return is accurate signed by

  • (a) the third party’s financial agent; and

  • (b) if different from the financial agent, the person who signed the application made under subsection 353(2) or — if subsection 353(1.1) applies — 349.6(2).

• Marginal note:Supporting documents

  (9) A third party shall, at the request of the Chief Electoral Officer, provide documents evidencing expenses set out in the return that are in an amount of more than $50, including bank statements, deposit slips and cancelled cheques.

Marginal note:Prohibition — false, misleading or incomplete document

359.1 No third party shall file under subsection 359(1) a third-party expenses return that

• (a) the third party knows or ought reasonably to know contains a material statement that is false or misleading; or

• (b) does not substantially set out the information required under section 359.

Marginal note:Auditor’s report

• 360 (1) If a third party incurs partisan activity expenses, partisan advertising expenses, election advertising expenses or election survey expenses in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more, its third-party expenses return filed under subsection 359(1) shall include a report made under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Auditor’s report

  (2) The third party’s auditor shall report on the third-party expenses return and shall make any examination that will enable the auditor to give an opinion in the report as to whether the return presents fairly the information contained in the accounting records on which it is based.

• Marginal note:Statement

  (3) An auditor shall include in the report any statement that the auditor considers necessary, when

  • (a) the third-party expenses return that is the subject of the report does not present fairly the information contained in the accounting records on which it is based;

  • (b) the auditor has not received from the third party all of the required information and explanation; or

  • (c) based on the auditor’s examination, it appears that proper accounting records have not been kept by the third party.

• Marginal note:Right of access

  (4) The auditor shall have access at any reasonable time to all of the third party’s documents that, in the auditor’s opinion, are necessary to enable the auditor to prepare the report, and may require the third party to provide any information or explanation that, in the auditor’s opinion, is necessary to enable the auditor to prepare the report.

Marginal note:Minor corrections — Chief Electoral Officer

• 361 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may correct a third-party expenses return filed under subsection 359(1) if the correction does not materially affect its substance.

• Marginal note:Corrections or revisions at request of Chief Electoral Officer

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer may in writing request a third party to correct or revise, within a specified period, a third-party expenses return filed under subsection 359(1).

• Marginal note:Deadline for correction or revision

  (3) If the Chief Electoral Officer requests a correction or revision, the third party shall provide him or her with the corrected or revised version of the return within the specified period.