Skip to main content

Skip to navigation

The access keys for this page are:

For The Record

THIRD-PARTY SPENDING LIMITS ON ELECTION ADVERTISING

Aug. 22, 2008
Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism
 

Opinion Editorials

  • Government has set new spending limits under the provincial Election Act for third parties, political parties and candidates. The limits ensure fair elections for all, while enabling everyone’s voice to be heard.
  • Third parties will be able to spend up to $3,000 in a single electoral district and $150,000 in total for the pre-writ period (the 60 days before the election formally begins) and 28-day election campaign.
  • Political parties will be entitled to spend $1.1 million during the pre-writ period and $4.4 million during the election campaign, for a total of $5.5 million.
  • A new limit of $70,000 will apply to individual candidates during the pre-writ period and another $70,000 during the election campaign.
  • Government will refrain from discretionary, non-statutory advertising during the pre-writ and election periods to avoid any potential to obtain partisan advantage through advertising.

No Limits on Debates

  • The spending limits are high enough to allow third parties to engage in economical forms of advertising, such as computer-generated posters and brochures or the creation of an 1-800 number.
  • The definition of election advertising does not apply to many, highly effective forms of potential election communications, such as editorials, debates, speeches, interviews, columns, letters, commentary, the news and the Internet.

Confidence in the Electoral Process

  • In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a landmark decision, which strongly supported the importance of properly constructed third-party spending limits in our democratic system. The decision upheld the constitutionality of federal law on election spending.

The Supreme Court ruled limits on third-party advertising expenses foster confidence in the electoral process in three ways:

  • The limits address the perception that candidates and political parties can circumvent their spending limits through the creation of special interest groups.
  • The limits prevent the possibility that the wealthy can dominate the electoral discourse and dictate the outcome of elections.
  • The limits assist in preventing overall advertising expenses from escalating.
Back to topTop

Opinion Editorials

May 8, 2008
Opinion Editorial
THIRD-PARTY SPENDING LIMITS ON ELECTION ADVERTISING
By Wally Oppal
Minister of Attorney General
Submitted: Vancouver Province
Status: Published May 8, 2008
In response to your recent editorial opposing proposed changes to the provincial Election Act, it is important for your readers to know what the Supreme Court of Canada has actually said about third-party spending limits on election advertising. [Read More]