Political Financing Handbook for Registered Parties and Chief Agents (EC 20231) – April 2019 – draft guideline OGI 2019-06

This document is Elections Canada's draft guideline OGI 2019-06.

Click on the link for the latest Political Financing Handbook for Registered Parties and Chief Agents.

A political party is an organization with the following as one of its fundamental purposes: to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election.

A party has to register with Elections Canada if it would like to:

• have the party's name appear on ballots under the names of its confirmed candidates
• issue tax receipts
• be eligible for a reimbursement of paid election expenses and paid accessibility expenses after a general election
• purchase an allocated amount of prime broadcasting time in a general election
• obtain voters lists from Elections Canada for electoral districts where it ran candidates in the last general election
• transfer funds, property or services to other political entities (see the transfer rules later in this chapter)
• accept surplus funds from a candidate, a leadership contestant or a nomination contestant
• register electoral district associations (maximum of one in each electoral district)
• sit on the Advisory Committee of Political Parties, which provides Elections Canada with advice and recommendations relating to elections and political financing

Apply for registration > Become an eligible party > Become a registered party

To apply for registration, the party has to fill out the General Form—Political Party and send it to Elections Canada.

The form explains what information and signatures to include, notably:

• the party's full name and, optionally, its logo and abbreviation or short-form name (which may be subject to a maximum length set by the Chief Electoral Officer)
• the party leader's contact information and a copy of the party's resolution to appoint the leader
• contact information and signed consent to act in that role for the following positions:
  • at least three party officers other than the party leader
  • the chief agent
  • the auditor
• names and addresses of at least 250 electors and their declarations in the prescribed form that they are members of the party and support the party's application for registration
• the party's policy for the protection of personal information that it collects and the address of the exact web page where the policy is published on the party's website

Note: It is advisable to provide contact information and declarations of more than 250 party members to ensure that there are at least 250 valid declarations after the information is verified.

Elections Canada's review of the application

Elections Canada will review the application for registration and inform the party leader of whether or not the party is eligible for registration.

A political party becomes an eligible party if:

• the party's name, short-form name, abbreviation or logo does not so resemble another eligible or registered party's name, short-form name, abbreviation or logo as to be confused with it
• the party's name does not include the word "independent"
• at least 250 declarations have been received from party members and verified by Elections Canada
• the party has at least three officers in addition to its leader
• the party has appointed a chief agent and an auditor
• Elections Canada is satisfied that the party has provided all the information required and that the information is accurate

If the party did not meet all requirements, Elections Canada will inform the party leader of which requirements were not met.

Maintaining eligible party status

An eligible party cannot become registered until a general election or a by-election is called. To keep its eligible status in the meantime, an eligible party must provide:

• a statement confirming the validity of the party's registry information by June 30
  each year
• a declaration by the party leader, submitted by June 30 each year, regarding the party's fundamental purpose to participate in public affairs
• any document required to inform Elections Canada about a change in the party's registry information or any new appointment within 30 days of the event
• within 10 days after a general election is called, a statement confirming the validity of the party's registry information and a list of the party's designated representatives for the purpose of endorsing candidates in the election
• the names, addresses and declarations of 250 party members every third year

An eligible party becomes a registered party during a general election or by-election if:

• it has at least one candidate whose nomination has been confirmed for the election, and
• its application for registration was made at least 60 days before the election was called

Note: An eligible party that makes an application after the 60-day deadline can become a registered party only for the next general election or by-election.

Elections Canada will check whether an eligible party has any confirmed candidates after nominations close. It then notifies the party leader that:

• the party has been registered in the Registry of Political Parties, or
• the party has lost its eligibility for registration because it has no confirmed candidates (in the case of a general election only)

A party remains registered as long as it continues to meet the requirements for staying registered, including mandatory reporting. The party does not need to reapply at each election.

Note: An eligible party that becomes registered is deemed to have been registered from the first day of the pre-election period, if any, or from the day a general election or by-election was called.

A registered party's fiscal year must be a calendar year (January 1 to December 31).

Depending on the date of registration, the length of a registered party's first fiscal period must be modified to end on December 31. The first fiscal period may not be less than 6 months or more than 18 months.

Examples

1. If a party is registered on October 1, the party's first fiscal period will end on December 31 in the following year, 15 months after registration.
2. If a party is registered on March 1, the party's first fiscal period will end on December 31 in the same year, 10 months after registration.

Registered parties may choose to register provincial or territorial divisions with Elections Canada.

A provincial or territorial division of the registered party is a division of the party for which Elections Canada has received the following information:

• the name of the party, the division and the province or territory
• the address of the party office where records are kept
• the names and addresses of the chief executive officer, other officers of the division and any registered agent appointed by the division
• a declaration signed by the party leader
• updates about changes to registry information

Two or more registered parties may apply to Elections Canada to become a single registered party. An application for a merger can be submitted at any time, except during an election period or 30 days before it.

The application for a merger must include:

• certifications from the leaders of the merging parties
• a resolution from each of the merging parties, approving the proposed merger
• the information normally required to register a party, except for the names, addresses and signed declarations of 250 members

Elections Canada updates the Registry of Political Parties if the following conditions are met:

• The application for a merger was not made in an election period or 30 days before it.
• The merged party is eligible for registration as defined in the Canada Elections Act.
• The merging parties have discharged their reporting obligations.

Elections Canada then notifies the officers of the merging parties in writing that the parties have been merged and publishes the information about the merger in the Canada Gazette.

Note: The effective date of the merger is the day on which Elections Canada amends the Registry of Political Parties.

Registered parties

The following happens when two or more registered parties merge:

• The merged party is the successor of each merging party.
• The merged party becomes a registered party.
• The assets of each merging party belong to the merged party.
• The merged party is responsible for the liabilities of each merging party.
• The merged party is responsible for the obligations of each merging party to report financial transactions and election expenses for any period before the merger.
• The merged party replaces a merging party in any legal proceedings.
• Any decision involving a merging party may be enforced by or against the merged party.

Registered associations

Any registered association of a merging party is deregistered. It may transfer funds or property to the merged party or to a registered association of the merged party within six months after the merger.

Electoral district associations of the merged party must register with Elections Canada.

Within six months after the date of the merger, the merging parties must provide:

• financial returns not provided for any earlier fiscal period
• audit reports not provided for any earlier fiscal period

Within six months after the date of the merger, the merged party must provide:

• a statement of assets and liabilities as of the date of the merger, accompanied by an audit report and a declaration from the chief agent

Voluntary

1. The registered party asks to be deregistered (the request must be made in writing, signed by the leader and two officers of the party)

Note: Elections Canada cannot process a request for voluntary deregistration during the election period of a general election.

Involuntary

2. The registered party fails to endorse a candidate in a general election
3. A court orders Elections Canada to deregister the party because the party, its chief agent, a registered agent or one of its officers has been convicted of an offence under subsection 501(3) of the Canada Elections Act
4. A court orders Elections Canada to deregister the party, after a judicial application by the Commissioner of Canada Elections, if the court is satisfied that the party does not have as one of its fundamental purposes to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election
5. The registered party fails to submit reports or financial returns (see below)
6. The registered party fails to meet its obligations with respect to officers or members (see below)

Elections Canada may deregister a registered party if it fails to provide:

• the party's policy for the protection of personal information and the web page address on the party’s website where it is published (the party must have a policy at all times)
• the Statement of Registered Party Assets and Liabilities within six months after the effective date of registration
• a statement confirming the validity of its registry information by June 30 each year
• a declaration by the party leader, submitted by June 30 each year, regarding the party's fundamental purpose to participate in public affairs
• any document required to inform Elections Canada about a change in the party's registry information or any new appointment within 30 days of the event
• within 10 days after a general election is called, a statement confirming the validity of the party's registry information and a list of the party's designated representatives for the purpose of endorsing candidates in the election
• the names, addresses and declarations of 250 party members every third year
• the party's annual financial report, accompanied by an audit report
• the party's election expenses report after a general election, accompanied by an audit report
• a nomination contest report within 30 days after the contest selection date
• a leadership contest report

If a registered party fails in its reporting obligations, Elections Canada will notify the party and its officers in writing of the failure. It will ask the party to:

• within five days of receiving a notice about confirming the registry information during an election period, send the required statement
• within 30 days of receiving a notice about a reporting omission, submit the required report, or
• satisfy Elections Canada that the omission was not the result of negligence or a lack of good faith

If the party does not correct the omission but instead satisfies Elections Canada that the omission was not the result of negligence or a lack of good faith, Elections Canada may:

• exempt the party in whole or in part from complying with the obligation, or
• specify a new deadline to comply with the obligation

Note: Failure to comply with notices from Elections Canada may lead to deregistration of the party.

If a registered party fails to perform its obligations with respect to officers or members, Elections Canada will notify the party of the failure. It will ask the party to:

• within 60 days after receiving a notice about party officers, appoint at least three officers in addition to the leader
• within 90 days after receiving a notice about party members, submit the names, addresses and declarations of 250 party members

If Elections Canada is satisfied that the registered party made reasonable efforts to comply with the request, it may grant an extension to comply.

Note: Failure to comply with notices from Elections Canada may lead to deregistration of the party.

If a registered party is deregistered:

• Elections Canada sends a notice to the party and its registered associations with the effective date of deregistration.
• The effective date of deregistration will be at least 15 days after the notice date.
• The notice is published on Elections Canada's website and in the Canada Gazette.

Note: If a registered party is deregistered, its registered associations are also deregistered.

After the effective date of deregistration, the party is no longer allowed to:

• issue tax receipts
• transfer funds, property or services to a candidate endorsed by the registered party
• accept surplus funds from a candidate, leadership contestant or nomination contestant

The party remains responsible for filing financial returns within six months after deregistration. The following returns must be filed:

• the return for the fiscal period in which the party became deregistered
• the return for any other fiscal period for which the party has not filed a return
• any election expenses return not yet filed
• any audit reports, as required