Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9)

Election Advertising

Marginal note:Message must be authorized

320 A candidate or registered party, or a person acting on their behalf, who causes election advertising to be conducted shall mention in or on the message that its transmission was authorized by the official agent of the candidate or by the registered agent of the party, as the case may be.

321 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 207]

Marginal note:Election advertising posters

• 322 (1) No landlord or person acting on their behalf may prohibit a tenant from displaying election advertising posters on the premises to which the lease relates and no condominium corporation or any of its agents may prohibit the owner of a condominium unit from displaying election advertising posters on the premises of his or her unit.

• Marginal note:Permitted restrictions

  (2) Despite subsection (1), a landlord, person, condominium corporation or agent referred to in that subsection may set reasonable conditions relating to the size or type of election advertising posters that may be displayed on the premises and may prohibit the display of election advertising posters in common areas of the building in which the premises are found.

Marginal note:Blackout period

• 323 (1) No person shall transmit election advertising to the public in an electoral district on polling day before the close of all of the polling stations in the electoral district.

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (2) The transmission to the public of a notice of an event that the leader of a registered party intends to attend or an invitation to meet or hear the leader of a registered party is not election advertising for the purpose of subsection (1).

• Definition of person

  (3) For the purpose of subsection (1), a person includes a registered party and a group within the meaning of Part 17.

Marginal note:Exceptions

324 Subsection 323(1) does not apply in respect of

• (a) the transmission of a message that was transmitted to the public on what is commonly known as the Internet before the blackout period described in that subsection and that was not changed during that period; or

• (b) the distribution during that period of pamphlets or the posting of messages on signs, posters or banners.

Marginal note:Prohibition — prevention or impairment of transmission

• 325 (1) No person shall prevent or impair the transmission to the public of an election advertising message without the consent of a person with authority to authorize its transmission.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply with respect to

  • (a) the prevention or impairment, by a public authority, of an unlawful transmission if reasonable notice has first been given to the person who authorized the transmission; or

  • (b) the removal by an employee of a public authority of a sign, poster or banner where the posting of it is a hazard to public safety.

Online Platforms

Marginal note:Online platforms that are subject to requirements

• 325.1 (1) This section and section 325.2 apply to any online platform that, in the 12 months before the first day of the pre-election period, in the case of the publication on the platform of a partisan advertising message, or the 12 months before the first day of the election period, in the case of the publication on the platform of an election advertising message, was visited or used by Internet users in Canada an average of at least the following numbers of times per month:

  • (a) 3,000,000 times, if the content of the online platform is available mainly in English;

  • (b) 1,000,000 times, if the content of the online platform is available mainly in French; or

  • (c) 100,000 times, if the content of the online platform is available mainly in a language other than English or French.

• Marginal note:Registry of partisan advertising messages and election advertising messages

  (2) The owner or operator of an online platform that sells, directly or indirectly, advertising space to the following persons and groups shall publish on the platform a registry of the persons’ and groups’ partisan advertising messages and election advertising messages published on the platform during that period:

  • (a) a registered party or eligible party;

  • (b) a registered association;

  • (c) a nomination contestant;

  • (d) a potential candidate or a candidate; or

  • (e) a third party that is required to register under subsection 349.6(1) or 353(1).

• Marginal note:Information to be included in registry

  (3) The registry referred to in subsection (2) shall include the following:

  • (a) an electronic copy of each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message published on the platform; and

  • (b) for each advertising message referred to in paragraph (a), the name of the person who authorized the advertising message’s publication on the platform, namely

    • (i) a registered agent of the registered party or eligible party, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered party or eligible party,

    • (ii) the financial agent of the registered association, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered association,

    • (iii) the financial agent of the nomination contestant, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a nomination contestant,

    • (iv) the official agent of the potential candidate or candidate, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a potential candidate or a candidate, and

    • (v) the financial agent of the registered third party, in the case of an advertising message whose publication was requested by a registered third party.

• Marginal note:Publication period of registry

  (4) The owner or operator of the online platform shall publish in the registry referred to in subsection (2) the information referred to in subsection (3) for each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message during the following periods:

  • (a) in the case of a partisan advertising message, during the period that begins on the day on which the online platform first publishes the advertising message and ends two years after

    • (i) the end of the election period of the general election immediately following the pre-election period, or

    • (ii) the day referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition pre-election period if there is no general election immediately following the pre-election period; and

  • (b) in the case of an election advertising message, during the period that begins on the first day on which the online platform publishes such an advertising message and ends two years after the end of the election period.

• Marginal note:Information to be kept after publication period

  (5) The owner or operator of the online platform shall keep the information that was included in the registry referred to in subsection (2) in respect of each partisan advertising message and each election advertising message for five years after the end of the applicable publication period referred to in subsection (4).

Marginal note:Information to be provided by advertiser

325.2 A person or group referred to in any of paragraphs 325.1(2)(a) to (e) that requests the publication of a partisan advertising message or election advertising message on an online platform shall provide the owner or operator of the platform with all the information in the person’s or group’s control that the owner or operator needs in order to comply with subsection 325.1(2).

Election Surveys

Marginal note:Transmission of election survey results

• 326 (1) The first person who transmits the results of an election survey — other than a survey that is described in section 327 — to the public during an election period and any person who transmits them to the public within 24 hours after they are first transmitted to the public must provide the following together with the results:

  • (a) the name of the sponsor of the survey;

  • (b) the name of the person or organization that conducted the survey;

  • (c) the date on which or the period during which the survey was conducted;

  • (d) the population from which the sample of respondents was drawn;

  • (e) the number of people who were contacted to participate in the survey;

  • (f) if applicable, the margin of error in respect of the data obtained; and

  • (g) the address of the Internet site on which a report referred to in subsection (3) is published.

• Marginal note:Additional information — published surveys

  (2) In addition to the information referred to in subsection (1), in the case of a transmission to the public by means other than broadcasting, the wording of the survey questions in respect of which data is obtained must be provided.

• Marginal note:Notice of transmission of survey results

  (2.1) The first person who transmits to the public the results of an election survey — other than a survey that is described in section 327 — shall, if that person is not the sponsor of the survey, ensure that the sponsor of the survey has been notified, before the transmission, of the date on which the results are to be transmitted.

• Marginal note:Report on survey results

  (3) A sponsor of an election survey — other than a survey that is described in section 327 — shall, during an election period, ensure that a report on the results of the survey is published and remains for the remainder of that period on an Internet site that is available to the public. The sponsor shall do so before transmitting the results of the survey, if they are the first person to transmit them or, if they are not, as soon as feasible after being notified of the date of transmission under subsection (2.1), and the report shall include the following, as applicable:

  • (a) the name and address of the sponsor of the survey;

  • (b) the name and address of the person or organization that conducted the survey;

  • (c) the date on which or the period during which the survey was conducted;

  • (d) information about the method used to collect the data from which the survey results are derived, including

    • (i) the sampling method,

    • (ii) the population from which the sample was drawn,

    • (iii) the size of the initial sample,

    • (iv) the number of individuals who were asked to participate in the survey and the numbers and respective percentages of them who participated in the survey, refused to participate in the survey, and were ineligible to participate in the survey,

    • (v) the dates and time of day of the interviews,

    • (vi) the method used to recalculate data to take into account in the survey the results of participants who expressed no opinion, were undecided or failed to respond to any or all of the survey questions, and

    • (vii) any weighting factors or normalization procedures used in deriving the results of the survey; and

  • (e) the wording of the survey questions and, if applicable, the margins of error in respect of the data obtained.

• (4) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 210]

Marginal note:Broadcast of surveys not based on recognized statistical methods

327 The first person who transmits the results of an election survey that is not based on recognized statistical methods to the public during an election period and any person who transmits them within 24 hours after they are first transmitted to the public must indicate that the survey was not based on recognized statistical methods.

Marginal note:Prohibition — causing transmission of election survey results during blackout period

• 328 (1) No person shall cause to be transmitted to the public, in an electoral district on polling day before the close of all of the polling stations in that electoral district, the results of an election survey that have not previously been transmitted to the public.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — transmission of election survey results during blackout period

  (2) No person shall transmit to the public, in an electoral district on polling day before the close of all of the polling stations in that electoral district, the results of an election survey that have not previously been transmitted to the public.

• Marginal note:Application

  (3) For the purpose of this section, a person includes a group within the meaning of Part 17.

329 [Repealed, 2014, c. 12, s. 73]

Broadcasting outside Canada

Marginal note:Prohibition — use of broadcasting station outside Canada

• 330 (1) No person shall, with intent to influence persons to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate or registered party, at an election, use a broadcasting station outside Canada, or aid, abet, counsel or procure the use of a broadcasting station outside Canada, during an election period, for the broadcasting of any matter having reference to an election.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (1.1) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of any matter that is broadcast if the broadcasting signals originated in Canada.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — broadcasting outside Canada

  (2) During an election period, no person shall broadcast, outside Canada, election advertising with respect to an election.

331 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 213]

Political Broadcasts

Marginal note:Appointment of Broadcasting Arbitrator

• 332 (1) A Broadcasting Arbitrator shall be appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer without delay after the consultations described in section 333. The Broadcasting Arbitrator shall be

  • (a) chosen by a unanimous decision of representatives of registered parties; or

  • (b) named by the Chief Electoral Officer, if the consultations do not result in a unanimous decision.

• Marginal note:Term of office

  (2) The term of office of the Broadcasting Arbitrator shall expire six months after polling day at the general election next following his or her appointment.

• Marginal note:Removal for cause

  (3) The Chief Electoral Officer may remove the Broadcasting Arbitrator from office only for cause.

• Marginal note:Eligible for re-appointment

  (4) A Broadcasting Arbitrator whose term of office has expired is eligible to be re-appointed.

• Marginal note:Salary

  (5) A Broadcasting Arbitrator shall be paid the salary or other remuneration that may be fixed by the Chief Electoral Officer.