Backgrounders

Registration of Federal Political Parties

This backgrounder summarizes the requirements for registering federal political parties and for maintaining registered status. For the full legal requirements, please refer to the Canada Elections Act.

This information includes changes brought about by Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Income Tax Act, which came into force on May 15, 2004. For more information about the effects of the amending Act, see the backgrounder on New Law for Registering Political Parties (EC 90538).

History

Since Confederation, most candidates for election to the House of Commons have been affiliated with political parties. Political parties were not formally recognized in the Canada Elections Act until 1970, however, when changes to the Act also allowed the political affiliations of candidates to be shown on the ballots.

The voluntary registration of political parties was introduced in 1974. By registering with the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, a party undertakes to disclose political contributions and expenditures, among other responsibilities, and receives several benefits.

What is a political party?

The Canada Elections Act defines a political party as "an organization one of whose fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election."

Forming and registering a federal political party are two different things. There is no legislation regulating the formation of federal political parties. Once a party exists, it may apply to be registered under the Act.

The Act uses the following terms:

• eligible party: a party that has applied for registration under the Act, and that has met all of the legal requirements to be registered (including having at least 250 members who are electors), other than running a candidate at a general election or by-election
   
• registered party: a party is registered under the Act if it succeeds in endorsing one or more confirmed candidates in a general election or a by-election after it has become eligible for registration, and
   
• deregistered party: a registered party that has been deregistered by the Chief Electoral Officer for failing to endorse a confirmed candidate in at least one electoral district, for failing to have three officers in addition to its leader, for failing to have at least 250 members who are electors, or for failing to file documents specified by the Act. A registered party may also be deregistered by the Chief Electoral Officer by the order of a competent court on the application of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, if the party does not meet the Act's definition of a political party. A party may deregister voluntarily.

Party name on the ballot

One of the traditional benefits of registered status for a political party is that the party's name may appear on the ballot, together with the name of the party's candidate in that electoral district. If a candidate is not endorsed by a registered party, the candidate can choose to have either the word "independent" or nothing at all under his or her name on the ballot.

Applying for registration

A political party that wishes to participate in a federal general election or by-election may apply to register with the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. The application for registration must be signed by the party leader, and must include:

• the full name of the political party
   
• either the party's short-form name or the abbreviation of the party's name, if any, which will appear on election documents such as the ballot
   
• the party’s logo, if any
   
• the name and address of the party's leader, and a copy of the party's resolution to appoint its leader that is certified by the leader and another officer of the party
   
• the address of the party's office where records are kept and to which communications may be addressed
   
• the names and addresses of the party's officers and their signed consent to act
   
• the name and address of the party's auditor and the auditor's signed consent to act as auditor
   
• the name and address of the party's chief agent and his or her signed consent to act as chief agent
   
• the names, addresses and signatures of 250 electors and their declarations in the prescribed form that they are members of the party and support the party's application for registration, and
• the leader's declaration in the prescribed form that having considered all the factors relevant to determining the party's purposes, one of the party's fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election

The entire application, including the names of the members, is a public document. To confirm the accuracy of the leader's declaration about the party's fundamental purposes, the Chief Electoral Officer may ask the leader to provide further relevant information.

Restrictions on party names

The name, short-form name, abbreviation or logo of the political party applying for registration must not so resemble the name, short-form name, abbreviation or logo of another party as to be confused with it. The name must not include the word "independent", nor any word likely to be confused with it. If the party intends to adopt French and English versions of its name, both versions must be submitted with the application.

Appointing officers of the party

An eligible party and a registered party must at all times have at least three officers in addition to the leader of the party, the chief agent and the auditor. Only a person whose ordinary residence is in Canada can be eligible to be an officer of a registered or eligible party.

The party must report any new appointment of an officer to the Chief Electoral Officer, accompanied by a copy of the signed consent of that person to act as an officer.

If a person ceases to be an officer of the party for any reason, and if the remaining number of officers is less than four, the party must appoint a replacement within 30 days.

Subject to some exceptions, a person must not act as an officer of an eligible or registered party if that person knows that the party does not have as one of its fundamental purposes participating in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election.

Appointing an auditor

A party applying for registration must appoint as its auditor an eligible person or partnership that is a member in good standing of a corporation, association or institute of professional accountants (CA, CMA, CGA). The party appoints its auditor in accordance with its internal bylaws. The auditor must sign a declaration accepting the appointment. If an auditor ceases to hold office for any reason, the party must appoint a new auditor at once and the leader must notify the Chief Electoral Officer of the change in writing within 30 days.

The following persons are not eligible to be auditors:

• an election officer or a member of the staff of a returning officer
   
• a candidate
   
• an officer of a registered or eligible party
   
• an official agent of a candidate
   
• a chief agent of a registered party or an eligible party
   
• a registered agent of a registered party
   
• electoral district agents of registered associations
   
• leadership contestants and their leadership campaign agents
   
• nomination contestants and their financial agents, or
   
• financial agents of registered third parties

Appointing a chief agent

A party applying for registration must appoint an eligible person or corporation as its chief agent. To be eligible for appointment as chief agent, a person must be eligible to vote and must have the capacity to enter into contracts in the province or territory in which the person ordinarily resides.

For a corporation to be eligible, it must have been incorporated under federal or provincial law. If the chief agent is a corporation, any declaration by the chief agent required under the Act must be completed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of the corporation.

The following persons are not eligible to be a chief agent:

• an election officer or a member of the staff of a returning officer
   
• a candidate
   
• an undischarged bankrupt
   
• an auditor appointed under the Act
   
• a person who is not an elector or is not a corporation incorporated under federal or provincial law, or
   
• a person who does not have the capacity to enter into contracts in the province or territory in which the person ordinarily resides

The chief agent must sign a declaration accepting the appointment. If a chief agent ceases to hold office for any reason, the party must appoint a new chief agent at once and the leader must notify the Chief Electoral Officer in writing within 30 days of the change.

How is an application verified?

When the Chief Electoral Officer receives an application for registration, the Registrar of Political Parties at Elections Canada sends a confirmation form to the party members listed on the application. The members are asked to fill out the form and mail it back to Elections Canada, confirming that they are party members, that they are qualified to vote, and that they signed the application.

Elections Canada strongly recommends that more than the required number of names be provided, since experience shows that not all members who were listed on the original application mail the questionnaire back in a timely manner (375 is a reasonable number to make sure that there are 250 confirmations).

Once the Chief Electoral Officer has finished verifying the party's application for registration (that is, Elections Canada has received 250 confirmations and the party has met all other requirements), the Chief Electoral Officer will inform the leader of the party whether the party is eligible for registration.

The party can lose its eligibility for registration if the Chief Electoral Officer is not satisfied that the party has updated its application information when required, if the party fails to endorse a confirmed candidate in at least one electoral district at a general election, if the party does not have the minimum number of officers, if the party does not have the minimum number of members who are electors, or if the party has not obtained their signed consent to act from its officers, chief agent and auditor, on appointment. A party that loses its eligibility cannot be registered, but may reapply for registration.

An eligible party may withdraw its application any time before registration, by sending a request to withdraw to the Chief Electoral Officer. The withdrawal of the application must be signed by the leader.

When does registration take effect?

Once the Chief Electoral Officer has determined that a party is eligible for registration, the eligible party becomes registered when it endorses at least one confirmed candidate in a general election or by-election, and meets all other requirements, so long as it applied for registration at least 60 days before the issue of the election writs. The Chief Electoral Officer will inform the leader of an eligible party that the party has been registered as soon as practicable after the party has at least one confirmed candidate. If the party does not meet the registration requirements, it will also cease to be an eligible party on being informed that it has not been registered.

Registration cannot take effect for a particular election if an application is filed fewer than 60 days before the writs for that election are issued, if the party does not have at least one candidate whose nomination has been confirmed, or if other requirements have not been met. The Chief Electoral Officer will then inform the leader of the eligible party that the party has not been registered. The party may become a registered party for the next general election or by-election if it satisfies the registration requirements.

The registered status of a party is maintained in the Registry of Political Parties for as long as the party meets the requirements of the Act. It does not need to reapply at each election. For an overview of these requirements, see the section entitled "What are the obligations associated with registration?" below.

What are the benefits of registration?

Once a party is registered, it is entitled to the following benefits.

• The party may issue official income tax receipts for monetary contributions, which may be used by the contributors to obtain a tax credit.
   
• The short-form name or abbreviation of the party name appears on the ballot, underneath the name of the confirmed candidate endorsed by the party.
   
• A candidate endorsed by a registered party may transfer his or her surplus funds to a registered electoral district association of the party or to the national party organization, while all other candidates are required to remit any surplus funds to the Receiver General.
   
• Following a general election and after Elections Canada has received the party's election expenses return and its auditor's report, the party may qualify for a refund of 50 percent of its election expenses paid, provided it has received at least 2 percent of the valid votes cast nationally or at least 5 percent of the valid votes cast in the electoral districts in which it endorsed a candidate (for the first general election held after January 1, 2004, the possible refund is 60 percent rather than 50 percent).
   
• At a general election, each registered party is allocated a certain amount of prime broadcasting time, which it may purchase from broadcasters. This allocation is based on the party's results in the previous general election. Registered and eligible parties are also entitled to an allocation of free broadcasting time, which is based on the allocation of paid time.
   
• Registered parties or their candidates may provide the returning officer with the names of suitable persons to act as election officers (revising agents, deputy returning officers, poll clerks and registration officers) in electoral districts where the party had candidates who finished first or second in the last election. The returning officer appoints these officials from the lists supplied by the parties.
   
• By October 15 annually, the Chief Electoral Officer provides registered parties (on request) with the updated lists of electors for electoral districts where they ran confirmed candidates in the last election.
   
• The names of registered and eligible parties are protected. New parties cannot register names or logos that might be confused with those of already registered political parties or eligible political parties, or of a deregistered party for a period of 30 days after its deregistration.
   
• The party's electoral district associations may be registered, which under certain conditions allows them to accept contributions and surpluses, provide goods and services, and transfer funds to other bodies within the party. With the registered party's consent, registered electoral district associations may also issue tax receipts for monetary contributions.

These benefits are lost if the party is deregistered.

What are the obligations associated with registration?

Political parties must meet certain obligations to maintain their eligible or registered status.

Eligible parties must:

• provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a report showing the names and addresses of agents appointed by the party, within 30 days of being informed that they are eligible
   
• provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a report in writing setting out any change in the particulars of the party's information in the Registry of Political Parties, within 30 days of the change; the report must be certified by the leader of the party
   
• no later than 10 days after the issue of the writs for a general election, file a statement in writing, signed by the party leader, confirming or updating the information in the Registry of Political Parties and, if the leader wishes, designating representatives to endorse candidates at an election
   
• on or before June 30 of every year, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a declaration by the leader of the party that having considered all of the factors relevant to determining the party's purposes, one of the party's fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election
   
• beginning in 2007 and every third year thereafter, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the names and addresses of 250 electors and their declarations that they are members of the party, and
   
• file an annual statement with the Chief Electoral Officer, signed by the leader, confirming or amending the party's information in the Registry of Political Parties on or before June 30 of every year

Registered parties must:

• provide an audited statement of the party's assets and liabilities and a declaration concerning the statement, within six months after becoming registered
   
• provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a report in writing of any change in the particulars of the party's information in the Registry of Political Parties within 30 days of the change; the report must be certified by the leader of the party
   
• no later than 10 days after the issue of the writs for a general election, file a statement in writing, signed by the party leader, confirming or updating the information in the Registry of Political Parties and, if the leader wishes, designating representatives to endorse election candidates
   
• file a statement with the Chief Electoral Officer, signed by the leader, confirming or amending the party's information in the Registry of Political Parties on or before June 30 of every year
   
• on or before June 30 of every year, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a declaration by the leader of the party that having considered all of the factors relevant to determining the party's purposes, one of the party's fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election
   
• beginning in 2007 and every third year thereafter, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the names and addresses of 250 electors and their declarations stating that they are members of the party
   
• provide an audited return on financial transactions within six months after the end of each fiscal period
   
• provide an audited return on election expenses within six months after election day at a general election, and
   
• provide an audited statement of its assets and liabilities within six months after its registration, and provide an annual update

Appointing registered agents

A registered or eligible party may appoint eligible persons or corporations as its registered agents, subject to any terms and conditions that the party specifies. The restrictions on eligibility for registered agents are the same as for a chief agent. Within 30 days after an appointment is made, the party must send a written report to Elections Canada, certified by the party's leader or the chief agent, that includes the registered agent's name and address and any terms and conditions of the appointment. The party's registered agents act for the party within the terms specified in their appointments. They assist and answer to the chief agent.

Changing a registered party’s name

If a registered party wants to change the full or short form of its name, its abbreviation or its logo, the party leader must apply to the Chief Electoral Officer, and attach a certified copy of the party's resolution to make the change. The resolution can be made by whomever and through whatever means the party's constitution allows. The certification by the leader of a copy of the resolution may be on a separate sheet of paper (to which the copy of the resolution is attached) or written directly on the copy of the resolution.

A party considering a name change should first consult Elections Canada to obtain the full lists of eligible and registered political parties. This information is also available at www.elections.ca.

To be accepted by the Chief Electoral Officer, a proposed change of name must not include the word "independent", or a word that so resembles "independent" that it would, in the Chief Electoral Officer's opinion, likely be confused with it. Nor may the new name, short-form name or abbreviation, if any, or logo, if any, in the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer, be likely to cause confusion with that of another registered or eligible political party.

A name change takes effect on the date the application is received by the Chief Electoral Officer, subject to his approval, except during an election period. In that case, the change takes effect on the day after election day.

Merging registered parties

Two or more registered parties may apply to the Chief Electoral Officer to merge their parties and become a single registered party.

On the merger of registered parties, any registered association of a merging party is deregistered and may transfer goods or funds to the merged party or to a registered association of the merged party in the six months immediately after the merger. The transfer is not a contribution for the purposes of the Act.

Voluntary deregistration

At any time other than during the election period of a general election, a registered political party may voluntarily apply to become deregistered. The application to deregister must be signed by the party leader and any two party officers who are listed in the Registry of Political Parties. The party's registered associations will also be deregistered.

Involuntary deregistration

One reason for the involuntary deregistration of a registered political party may arise before the final day for confirming nominations during a general election. The closing day for nominations is the 21st day before election day, and a returning officer has up to 48 hours after a nomination paper is filed to confirm the nomination. At that point a registered party must have endorsed a candidate in the election to maintain its registered status. If it has not, the Chief Electoral Officer will deregister the party. If a registered party is deregistered, its registered associations are also deregistered.

The Chief Electoral Officer may also deregister a registered party if it fails to:

• file statements confirming or amending the information in the Registry of Political Parties within 10 days after the writs are issued
   
• report on or before June 30 each year confirming or amending the party's information in the Registry of Political Parties
   
• report any changes to the information about the party in the Registry of Political Parties within 30 days, including replacement of the party leader or a change to the party's name, short-form name or abbreviation, or logo
   
• report the replacement of the chief agent or auditor of the party within 30 days of the replacement
   
• report a change of registered agents of the party within 30 days of the change
   
• file an audited statement of its assets and liabilities within six months of its registration
   
• file the party's audited financial transactions return or audited trust fund reports for each fiscal period
   
• file the party's audited general election expenses return within six months after election day
   
• file a statement setting out the dates of a leadership contest, or varying the dates or cancelling the contest, or
   
• file a report on a nomination contest within 30 days after the selection date

When the Chief Electoral Officer finds that a party has omitted to provide the information noted above, he will notify the party in writing that it must provide him with the requested information within a specified deadline.

When a party fails to rectify the omission before the deadline or does not convince the Chief Electoral Officer that the infraction was not the result of any negligence or lack of good faith on its part, the Chief Electoral Officer may deregister the party.

If the Chief Electoral Officer proposes to deregister a registered party for failure to file the above information, he will notify the party and its registered associations by sending a notice by registered mail or any other method of courier service that provides a proof of mailing and delivery. The notice specifies the effective date of the deregistration, which will be at least 15 days after the notice is sent.

The Chief Electoral Officer must deregister a registered party if that party:

• fails to satisfy the Chief Electoral Officer that it has at least three officers in addition to the leader of the party, the chief agent and the auditor, or
   
• fails to satisfy the Chief Electoral Officer that it has at least 250 members who are electors

The Chief Electoral Officer will give notice of the deregistration of a registered party to the party and to its chief agent, and of the resulting deregistration of its registered associations to the associations and their financial agents.

The Chief Electoral Officer will publish a notice of deregistration in the Canada Gazette, and change the status of the party in the Registry of Political Parties from "registered" to "deregistered". The deregistered party and its associations lose all the advantages of a registered party and registered associations on the day of their deregistration.

Within six months, a deregistered party must provide the Chief Electoral Officer with:

• a financial transactions return
   
• the auditor's report on the financial transactions return, and
   
• the chief agent's declaration about the transactions

These documents must cover the portion of the party's current fiscal period ending on the day of its deregistration, and any earlier fiscal period for which it has not already provided the return, report and declaration.

If the deregistered party has not already provided them, within six months it must also give the Chief Electoral Officer:

• an election expenses return on the party's general election expenses
   
• the auditor's report on the election expenses return, and
   
• the chief agent's declaration about the election expenses

A deregistered party can reapply for registration at any time. For 30 days after the deregistration of a party, the Chief Electoral Officer will preserve the name, short-form name, abbreviation and logo of the deregistered party so that another political party cannot apply for registration under that name. If the deregistered party applies for registration within the 30-day period, it may apply under the same name, short-form name, abbreviation and logo that it had at the time of its deregistration. Whether or not it applies within the 30-day period, it is still responsible for filing the returns, reports and declarations of a deregistered party.

Judicial deregistration

The Commissioner of Canada Elections is the official responsible for ensuring that the Canada Elections Act is complied with and enforced. If the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a registered party does not have as one of its fundamental purposes participating in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election, he or she must notify the party in writing, requiring it to show that one of its fundamental purposes is participation in public affairs as set out in the Act.

If the party fails to satisfy the Commissioner within a reasonable period of time, he or she may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order directing the Chief Electoral Officer to deregister the party, and for an order to liquidate the assets of the party and the assets of each of the party's registered associations. Before making an order, the court must be satisfied that the party does not have participation in public affairs (as set out in the Act) as one of its fundamental purposes. In making this determination, the court must consider all relevant factors.

While an application by the Commissioner for judicial deregistration is pending, the authority of a registered party to issue tax receipts is suspended.

Judicial deregistration may also take place if a registered party, its chief agent, registered agent or one of its officers has been convicted of a specified offence under the Act. In addition to any other punishment, the court may order the party to be deregistered and its assets liquidated, including the assets of its registered associations.

For more information, please contact:

Elections Canada
257 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0M6

Telephone

1 800 463-6868
toll-free in Canada and the United States

001 800 514-6868
toll-free in Mexico

(613) 993-2975
from anywhere in the world

For people who are deaf or hard of hearing:
TTY 1 800 361-8935
toll-free in Canada and the United States

Fax

(613) 954-8584
1 888 524-1444
toll-free in Canada and the United States

This publication is available in alternative formats.

May 2004