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Results of the StudyReport on the Survey of Registered Third Parties for the 43rd General Election: Wave 1 Final Report

Information about Third Parties

In total, there were 55 respondents who described themselves as the financial agent of a third party that registered with Elections Canada for the 2019 federal general election.

These 55 respondents represented various types of third parties.1 The majority (29 out of 55) responded on behalf of a registered non-profit or membership-based organization (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Type of third party

Q2. Which of the following best describes your third party?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 1: Type of third party

Text version of "Figure 1: Type of third party"

The horizontal bar chart above displays the number of respondents representing various types of third parties. The breakdown is as follows:

  • A registered non-profit or membership-based organization: 29 respondents
  • A union: 10 respondents
  • An organization with no formal legal entity: 6 respondents
  • A registered charity: 6 respondents
  • An individual: 3 respondents
  • Other: 1 respondent

The majority of financial agents (32 out of 55) reported that their third party had not registered for any past federal elections (see Figure 2). However, eight in ten (44 out of 55) said their third party is likely to register for future federal elections, with over four in ten (24 out of 55) saying that it is very likely and about a third (20 out of 55) saying that it is somewhat likely (see Figure 3).

Figure 2: Past registration for federal elections

Q3. To your knowledge, has this third party ever registered for any past federal elections?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 2: Past registration for federal elections

Text version of "Figure 2: Past registration for federal elections"

The pie chart above displays the number of respondents who have or have not registered for any past federal elections. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Yes: 21
  • No: 32
  • Don't know: 2

Figure 3: Likeliness of third party registering for future federal elections

Q4. To your knowledge, how likely or unlikely is it that this third party will register for future federal elections?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 3: Likeliness of third party registering for future federal elections

Text version of "Figure 3: Likeliness of third party registering for future federal elections"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of likeliness of their third party registering for future federal elections. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 4
  • Very unlikely: 3
  • Somewhat unlikely: 4
  • Somewhat likely: 20
  • Very likely: 24
  • BTM2: 7
  • TOP2: 44

Registration and Interim Returns

Ease of Registration Process

When asked about their experience while registering as a third party, the majority (34 out of 55) said it was easy to determine whether their organization needed to register with Elections Canada, with about a quarter (13 out of 55) saying it was very easy to determine (see Figure 4). In contrast, over a third (20 out of 55) said it was difficult to determine whether their organization needed to register with Elections Canada.

Figure 4: Ease of determining whether the third party needed to register with Elections Canada

Q5. Based on your experience registering as a third party, how easy or difficult was it to determine whether your organization needed to register with Elections Canada?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 4: Ease of determining whether the third party needed to register with Elections Canada

Text version of "Figure 4: Ease of determining whether the third party needed to register with Elections Canada"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of determining whether their organization needed to register with Elections Canada. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 1
  • Very difficult: 6
  • Somewhat difficult: 14
  • Somewhat easy: 21
  • Very easy: 13
  • BTM2: 20
  • TOP2: 34

Although about six in ten financial agents (34 out of 55) said it was easy to determine whether their organization needed to register with Elections Canada (see Figure 4), the majority (31 out of 55) also said it was difficult to figure out at what point they needed to register (see Figure 5). Over four in ten financial agents (24 out of 55) said it was somewhat difficult for them to figure out when they needed to register, and one in eight (7 out of 55) said it was very difficult.

Figure 5: Ease of figuring out when third parties needed to register

Q6. How easy or difficult was it to figure out at what point your third party needed to register?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 5: Ease of figuring out when third parties needed to register

Text version of "Figure 5: Ease of figuring out when third parties needed to register"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of figuring out at what point their third party needed to register. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 2
  • Very difficult: 7
  • Somewhat difficult: 24
  • Somewhat easy: 13
  • Very easy: 9
  • BTM2: 31
  • TOP2: 22

Lastly, when asked about the ease of figuring out how to register, the vast majority of financial agents (47 out of 55) said it was easy (see Figure 6). Over half (29 out of 55) said it was somewhat easy and a third (18 out of 55) said it was very easy to figure out how to register. Only about one in seven (8 out of 55) said it was difficult to figure out how to register.

Figure 6: Ease of figuring out how to register

Q7. How easy or difficult was it to figure out how to register?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 6: Ease of figuring out how to register

Text version of "Figure 6: Ease of figuring out how to register"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of figuring out how to register. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Very difficult: 2
  • Somewhat difficult: 6
  • Somewhat easy: 29
  • Very easy: 18
  • BTM2: 8
  • TOP2: 47

Finding Registration Forms

Nearly seven in ten respondents (38 out of 55) said they were the person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website (see Figure 7). When these financial agents were asked about the ease of finding the registration form, over eight in ten (32 out of 38) said the registration form was easy to find (see Figure 8). Almost half (18 out of 38) said it was very easy, and over a third (14 out of 38) said it was somewhat easy to find. In contrast, about one in six (6 out of 38) said it was somewhat difficult to find the registration form. No one said it was very difficult to find.

Figure 7: Financial agent as person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website

Q8. Were you the person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 7: Financial agent as person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website

Text version of "Figure 7: Financial agent as person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website"

The pie chart above displays the number of respondents who said they were or were not the person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Yes: 38
  • No: 17

Figure 8: Ease of finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website

Q9. How easy or difficult was it to find the registration form?
Base: Respondents who said that they were the person responsible for finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website (n=38)

Figure 8: Ease of finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website

Text version of "Figure 8: Ease of finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website "

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of finding the form to register as a third party on the Elections Canada website. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Somewhat difficult: 6
  • Somewhat easy: 14
  • Very easy: 18
  • TOP2: 32

Burden of Registration Process

Financial agents were also asked to state their level of agreement (or disagreement) with the statement "Registering as a third party did not require very much work." Just over two thirds (37 out of 55) said they agreed with this statement, and about three in ten (16 out of 55) said they disagreed (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Level of agreement with "Registering as a third party did not require very much work"

Q10. Please rate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statement: "Registering as a third party did not require very much work".
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 9: Level of agreement with 'Registering as a third party did not require very much work'

Text version of "Figure 9: Level of agreement with 'Registering as a third party did not require very much work' "

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of agreement that it did not require very much work when registering as a third party. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 2
  • Strongly disagree: 8
  • Somewhat disagree: 8
  • Somewhat agree: 27
  • Strongly agree: 10
  • BTM2: 16
  • TOP2: 37

Burden of Financial Records

When asked to state their level of agreement (or disagreement) with the statement "Opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities did not require very much work," the majority (35 out of 55) said they disagreed, indicating some burden (see Figure 10). Four in ten (22 out of 55) said they strongly disagreed with this statement, and a quarter (13 out of 55) said they somewhat disagreed. In contrast, a quarter (13 out of 55) said they agreed with this statement.

Figure 10: Level of agreement with "Opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities did not require very much work"

Q11. Please rate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statement: "Opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities did not require very much work."
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 10: Level of agreement with 'Opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities did not require very much work'

Text version of "Figure 10: Level of agreement with 'Opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities did not require very much work' "

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of agreement that it did not require very much work when opening a separate bank account and maintaining separate financial records for regulated activities. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 7
  • Strongly disagree: 22
  • Somewhat disagree: 13
  • Somewhat agree: 11
  • Strongly agree: 2
  • BTM2: 35
  • TOP2: 13

Overall Ease of Registration

When respondents were asked about the overall ease of registering as a third party, the majority (31 out of 55) said it was easy (see Figure 11). Half (28 out of 55) said it was somewhat easy, and a few (3 out of 55) said it was very easy. In contrast, four in ten (22 out of 55) said registering as a third party was difficult, with about a quarter (15 out of 55) saying it was somewhat difficult and one in eight (7 out of 55) saying it was very difficult.

Figure 11: Overall ease of registering as a third party

Q12. Overall, would you say that registering as a third party was...
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 11: Overall ease of registering as a third party

Text version of "Figure 11: Overall ease of registering as a third party"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported overall level of ease of registering as a third party. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 2
  • Very difficult: 7
  • Somewhat difficult: 15
  • Somewhat easy: 28
  • Very easy: 3
  • BTM2: 22
  • TOP2: 31

The 22 financial agents who said registering as a third party was somewhat or very difficult were further asked an open-ended question about what made it difficult. There was a total of 50 responses, since financial agents had the option to mention more than one difficulty. The most common responses were that the process was bureaucratic, complicated and/or onerous (11 out of 22); the qualifications or requirements were confusing and/or hard to understand (11 out of 22); and getting a bank account was difficult (10 out of 22) (see Figure 12).

Figure 12: Difficulties about registering as a third party

Q13: What was difficult about registering? (Open-ended)
Base: Respondents who said registering as a third party was "very difficult" or "somewhat difficult" (n=22)

Figure 12: Difficulties about registering as a third party

Text version of "Figure 12: Difficulties about registering as a third party"

The horizontal bar chart above displays the number of respondents who named various aspects of registering as a third party as being difficult. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Process was overly complicated: 11
  • Requirements were confusing: 11
  • Getting a bank account was hard: 10
  • Instructions were confusing: 6
  • Definitions were not clear: 4
  • Instructions were incomplete: 3
  • General financial concerns: 3
  • Other: 2

Interim Returns

Not all third parties needed to submit interim returns, as that requirement depends on the amount of contributions they received or expenses they incurred, as well as when the contributions were received and when the expenses were incurred.

All respondents were asked whether it was easy or difficult to determine whether their third party needed to submit any interim returns. Just over half (28 out of 55) said it was easy to figure out if they needed to submit an interim return (see Figure 13). A third (18 out of 55) said it was somewhat easy, and about a fifth (10 out of 55) said it was very easy. In contrast, nearly four in ten (21 out of 55) said it was difficult to figure out whether their third party needed to submit interim returns.

Figure 13: Ease of figuring out whether their third party needed to submit interim returns

Q14. How easy or difficult was it to figure out whether or not your third party needed to submit any interim returns?
Base: All respondents (n=55)

Figure 13: Ease of figuring out whether their third party needed to submit interim returns

Text version of "Figure 13: Ease of figuring out whether their third party needed to submit interim returns" How easy or difficult was it to figure out whether or not your third party needed to submit any interim returns?Base: All respondents (n=55)

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of figuring out whether or not their third party needed to submit any interim returns. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 6
  • Very difficult: 7
  • Somewhat difficult: 14
  • Somewhat easy: 18
  • Very easy: 10
  • BTM2: 21
  • TOP2: 28

Ease of Interim Return Process

The following series of questions were asked only to the financial agents of third parties that were required to submit at least one interim return.

First, these financial agents were asked whether it was easy or difficult to find the interim return form on the Elections Canada website. Three quarters (18 out of 24) said the form was easy to find (see Figure 14). About four in ten (10 out of 24) said the interim return form was somewhat easy to find, and a third (8 out of 24) said it was very easy to find. In contrast, one in six (4 out of 24) said the form was difficult to find.

Figure 14: Ease of finding interim return forms

Q17. How easy or difficult was it to find the interim return form on the Elections Canada website?
Base: Respondents who submitted one or more interim return(s) (n=24)

Figure 14: Ease of finding interim return forms

Text version of "Figure 14: Ease of finding interim return forms"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of finding the interim return form on the Elections Canada website. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Don't know: 2
  • Very difficult: 1
  • Somewhat difficult: 3
  • Somewhat easy: 10
  • Very easy: 8
  • BTM2: 4
  • TOP2: 18

In terms of when their third party needed to submit the interim return(s), the majority of financial agents (13 out of 24) said it was easy to figure out by what date they needed to submit their interim return(s) (see Figure 15). A third (8 out of 24) said it was somewhat easy, and about a fifth (5 out of 24) said it was very easy. However, over four in ten (11 out of 24) said it was difficult to figure out by what date they needed to submit the interim return(s), with about four in ten (10 out of 24) saying it was somewhat difficult.

Figure 15: Ease of figuring out by what date their third party needed to submit interim returns

Q15. How easy or difficult was it to figure out by what date your third party needed to submit interim returns?
Base: Respondents who submitted one or more interim return(s) (n=24)

Figure 15: Ease of figuring out by what date their third party needed to submit interim returns

Text version of "Figure 15: Ease of figuring out by what date their third party needed to submit interim returns"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease of figuring out when their third party needed to submit interim returns. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Very difficult: 1
  • Somewhat difficult: 10
  • Somewhat easy: 8
  • Very easy: 5
  • BTM2: 11
  • TOP2: 13

When asked about the ease of figuring out how to submit their interim returns, three quarters of financial agents (18 out of 24) said it was easy (see Figure 16). Over half (13 out of 24) said it was somewhat easy, and about a fifth (5 out of 24) said it was very easy. In contrast, a quarter (6 out of 24) said figuring out how to submit interim returns was difficult.

Figure 16: Ease of figuring out how to submit interim returns

Q16. How easy or difficult was it to figure out how to submit interim returns?
Base: Respondents who submitted one or more interim return(s) (n=24)

Figure 16: Ease of figuring out how to submit interim returns

Text version of "Figure 16: Ease of figuring out how to submit interim returns"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of ease when figuring out how to submit interim returns. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Very difficult: 1
  • Somewhat difficult: 5
  • Somewhat easy: 13
  • Very easy: 5
  • BTM2: 6
  • TOP2: 18

Regarding the amount of work required to complete and submit interim returns, most financial agents indicated that these were burdensome to complete. Financial agents who submitted at least one interim return were asked to rate their level of agreement (or disagreement) with the statement "Completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work." Nearly eight in ten (19 out of 24) financial agents said they disagreed with this statement (see Figure 17). Over half (13 out of 24) said they strongly disagreed, and a quarter (6 out of 24) said they somewhat disagreed. Only about a fifth (5 out of 24) agreed that completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work, and none said they strongly agreed with this statement.

Figure 17: Level of agreement with "Completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work"

Q18. Please rate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statement:
Completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work.
Base: Respondents who submitted one or more interim return(s) (n=24)

Figure 17: Level of agreement with 'Completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work'

Text version of "Figure 17: Level of agreement with 'Completing and submitting the interim returns did not require very much work' "

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of agreement that it did not require very much work when completing and submitting the interim returns. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Strongly disagree: 13
  • Somewhat disagree: 6
  • Somewhat agree: 5
  • BTM2: 19

Overall, three quarters of financial agents (18 out of 24) said the process of completing and submitting the interim return(s) was difficult (see Figure 18). Over four in ten (11 out of 24) said it was a somewhat difficult process, and about three in ten (7 out of 24) said it was a very difficult process. In contrast, a quarter (6 out of 24) said it was a somewhat easy process. No financial agents reported that the process was very easy.

Figure 18: Overall ease of interim return process

Q19. Overall, would you say that the process of completing and submitting the interim returns was...
Base: Respondents who submitted one or more interim return(s) (n=24)

Figure 18: Overall ease of interim return process

Text version of "Figure 18: Overall ease of interim return process"

The stacked horizontal bar chart above displays the respondents' reported level of overall ease regarding the process of completing and submitting the interim returns. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Very difficult: 7
  • Somewhat difficult: 11
  • Somewhat easy: 6
  • BTM2: 18

Those who said the interim return process was difficult were further asked an open-ended question about what was difficult about completing and submitting interim returns. Although 18 respondents were asked this question, there were a total of 33 mentions, as respondents were able to mention more than one type of difficulty in their response. The most common responses were that the process was hard to understand (11 out of 18) and that they had technical problems with the PDF (e.g. could not print, could not save) (9 out of 18) (see Figure 19).

Figure 19: Difficulties surrounding completing and submitting interim returns

Q20. What was difficult about completing and submitting the interim returns? (Open-ended)
Base: Respondents who said the process of completing and submitting the interim returns was "very difficult" or "somewhat difficult" (n=18)

Figure 19: Difficulties surrounding completing and submitting interim returns

Text version of "Difficulties surrounding completing and submitting interim returns"

The horizontal bar chart above displays the number of respondents who named various aspects of completing and submitting the interim returns as being difficult. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Process was hard to understand: 11
  • Technical problems with PDF: 9
  • Process required too much work: 7
  • Process was not user friendly: 6

Footnotes

1 "A business" was also an answer option, though no respondents selected it.