Political Financing Handbook for Third Parties, Financial Agents and Auditors – June 2021

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Table of Contents

• About This Document
  • Introduction to the handbook
  • Contact information
• 1. Reference Tables and Timelines
  • Definition of terms
    • What is a third party?
    • What are regulated activities?
    • Which issue-based activities are regulated?
  • Registration: Requirements and eligibility
  • Role and appointment process—financial agent
  • Role and appointment process—auditor
  • Important deadlines
  • Interim reporting requirements for a non-fixed-date general election
• 2. Registration
  • Requirement to register
  • Registration process
  • Prohibition on foreign third parties
• 3. Financial Administration: Overview of Resources
  • Third party's own funds
  • Loans
  • Contributions
    • What is a contribution?
    • What is commercial value?
    • Who can contribute to a third party, and who can accept contributions?
    • Prohibition on using foreign funds
    • Contributor identification
    • Accepting contributions of cryptocurrency
  • Volunteer labour
• 4. Financial Administration: Overview of Expenses
  • Administering expenses
    • Basic rules and responsibilities
    • What are regulated expenses, and who can authorize them?
    • Non-monetary contributions are also expenses
  • Expenses limit for an election period
  • When expenses are not cancellable
  • Prohibitions on exceeding or circumventing the limit
• 5. Regulated Activities: Election Advertising in an Election Period
  • What is election advertising?
    • What is election advertising in general?
    • What qualifies as election advertising on the Internet?
  • Election advertising expenses
  • Other rules: Tagline and blackout period
    • Tagline
    • Blackout period
• 6. Regulated Activities: Partisan Activities in an Election Period
  • What is a partisan activity?
    • What is a partisan activity in general?
    • Activities with members, employees or shareholders are included
    • Fundraising activities are excluded
    • Media activities and certain publications are excluded
  • Partisan activity expenses
  • Other rules: Telephone calls and mass text messaging
    • Telephone calls in the election period
    • Mass text messaging
• 7. Regulated Activities: Election Surveys in an Election Period
  • What is an election survey?
    • What is an election survey in general?
    • Surveys of members, employees or shareholders are included
  • Election survey expenses
  • Other rules: Publication of results, blackout period and telephone surveys
    • Publication of election survey results based on recognized statistical methods
    • Publication of election survey results not based on recognized statistical methods
    • Blackout period
    • Telephone surveys in the election period
• 8. Identifying and Allocating Regulated Expenses
  • Identifying expenses for regulated activities
  • Allocating expenses for regulated activities
    • Allocating overhead expenses when a third party uses its own resources
    • Allocating expenses for websites and web content
    • Allocating expenses outside and during an election period
    • Allocating expenses during by-elections
• 9. Interacting with Other Regulated Entities
  • What is collusion?
  • Specific prohibitions on colluding with political entities
  • Risk that coordinated activities will result in a non-monetary contribution
• 10. Reporting
  • Reporting obligations for a non-fixed-date general election
  • Reporting obligations for a by-election
  • Supporting documents
  • Corrections
  • Requesting a filing deadline extension
  • Submitting reports to Elections Canada

• Next