Financial Responsibility

Legislated campaign periods and filing dates

A candidate’s campaign period begins on the day on which they file a nomination for the office under section 33 of the Municipal Elections Act and ends December 31 in the case of a regular election. 

Candidates may choose to file any time after voting day, in accordance with Section 88.24 of the Municipal Elections Act. If at the end of the campaign period a candidate’s campaign expenses are greater than their campaign income, their campaign will be in a deficit and they may take action to extend their campaign in order to do additional fundraising.

It is your responsibility as a candidate to file a complete and accurate financial statement on time. The filing deadline was 2 p.m. on the last Friday in March following the election (March 31, 2023).

If you filed a nomination form, you must file a financial statement. This includes candidates who withdrew their nomination, candidates who were not certified and did not appear on the ballot, and candidates who were acclaimed.

If your campaign contributions (including contributions from yourself) or campaign expenses are greater than $10,000 you must have your financial statement audited and include the auditor’s report when you submit your financial statement to the clerk.

Complete details on filing of financial statements can be found on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website.

Penalties

In accordance with Section 88.20(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, no expense shall be incurred by or under the direction of a person unless they are a candidate.

Section 88.23(2) of the Municipal Elections, Act, 1996, outlines the penalties that may be imposed under the Act if a candidate is found guilty of an offence under Section 92(1) and convicted:

• the candidate forfeits any office to which they were elected and the office is deemed to be vacant; and
• until the next regular election has taken place, the candidate is ineligible to be elected or appointed to any office to which this Act applies.

Forms

Financial Statement - Auditor's Report Candidate - Form 4