Political Financing Handbook for Leadership Contestants and Financial Agents (EC 20195) – August 2024

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Table of Contents

• About This Document
  • Introduction to the handbook
  • What's new in this release?
  • Contact information
• 1. Reference Tables and Timelines
  • Important deadlines for the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Limits on contributions, loans and loan guarantees
  • Transfers—types and rules
  • Important reminders for leadership contestants, financial agents and leadership campaign agents
• 2. Starting and Closing the Leadership Campaign
  • Starting the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Role and appointment process—financial agent
  • Role and appointment process—leadership campaign agents
  • Role and appointment process—auditor
  • Withdrawal of a leadership contestant
  • Closing the leadership contestant's campaign
• 3. Contributions
  • What is a contribution?
  • What is commercial value?
  • Who can contribute?
  • Limits on contributions, loans and loan guarantees to a leadership contestant
  • Volunteer labour is not a contribution
  • Sponsorship or advertising at a political event is a contribution
  • Accepting and recording contributions made directly to the campaign
  • Accepting contributions of cryptocurrency
  • Issuing receipts for contributions made directly to the campaign
  • Determining the date a contribution is made
  • Recording anonymous contributions
  • Remitting anonymous contributions that cannot be accepted
  • Ineligible contributions
  • Returning ineligible or non-compliant contributions
• Directed contributions
  • What is a directed contribution?
  • Recording directed contributions
  • Registered party's retention of a directed contribution
• 4. Loans
  • Getting a loan
  • Types of loans
  • Loan interest
  • Repaying a loan
• 5. Transfers
  • What is a transfer?
  • Transfers sent to the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Transfers sent by the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Party memberships purchased by the leadership contestant's campaign
  • Irregular transfers
• 6. Other Cash Inflows
• 7. Fundraising
  • Determining the contribution amount when contributors receive a benefit
  • Fundraising expenses
• Regulated fundraising events
  • What is a regulated fundraising event?
  • Leadership contestant's role in providing information about a regulated fundraising event
  • Returning contributions for non-compliance with disclosure rules
• Typical fundraising activities
  • Sale of branded goods
  • Auctions
  • Ticketed fundraising events
  • Other ticketed events
  • Non-ticketed events
  • Draws
• 8. Leadership Campaign Expenses
  • What are leadership campaign expenses?
  • Non-monetary contributions and transfers are also expenses
  • Who can incur expenses?
  • Who can pay expenses?
  • Property or services provided by the registered party or a registered association
  • Invoices
• 9. Leadership Contest Expenses
  • What are leadership contest expenses?
  • Who can incur and pay leadership contest expenses?
  • Limits on leadership contest expenses
• Typical leadership contest expenses
  • Advertising expenses
  • Websites and web content
  • Mass text messaging
  • Voter databases, surveys and research
  • Capital assets
  • Rental of a campaign office
  • Cell phones
  • Campaign workers and related expenses
  • High-profile campaigners and invited guests
• Use of parliamentary resources
  • Staff of a parliamentarian
  • Website and social media accounts of a parliamentarian
  • Parliamentary database of a member of Parliament
• 10. Leadership Contestant's Personal Expenses
  • What are the contestant's personal expenses?
  • Who can incur and pay the contestant's personal expenses?
• Typical personal expenses
  • Childcare
  • Care for a person with a physical or mental incapacity
  • Expenses related to a disability
  • Other personal expenses
• 11. Leadership Contestant's Travel and Living Expenses
  • What are the contestant's travel and living expenses?
  • What are not the contestant's travel and living expenses?
  • Who can incur and pay the contestant's travel and living expenses?
  • Use of travel reward points
• Typical travel and living expenses
  • Meals and incidentals
  • Temporary lodging
  • Transportation
• 12. Leadership Contestant's Litigation Expenses
  • What are the contestant's litigation expenses?
  • Who can incur and pay the contestant's litigation expenses?
• 13. Other Leadership Campaign Expenses
  • What are "other" leadership campaign expenses?
  • Who can incur and pay "other" leadership campaign expenses?
• Typical "other" expenses
  • Leadership contest fees
  • Compensation paid to the contestant
  • Fundraising expenses
  • Interest on loans before and after the contest period
  • Unused inventory
  • Activities to close out the campaign
  • Auditor's fees
  • Preparation of reports
  • Replacement or repair of damaged property
• 14. Reporting
  • Reporting obligations before contest day
  • Reporting obligations after contest day
  • Additional reporting
  • Supporting documents
  • Submitting reports to Elections Canada
  • Requesting a filing deadline extension
• 15. Managing Unpaid Claims and Loans
  • Repaying claims and loans within 36 months
  • Repaying claims and loans after 36 months
  • Requesting authorization for a payment
  • Reporting unpaid claims and loans
• 16. Disposing of Surplus
  • What is a surplus?
  • Sale of capital assets
  • Notice of estimated surplus from Elections Canada
  • How to dispose of a surplus

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