Canada Elections Act

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 477.9 (1) No candidate shall accept any gift or other advantage that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence them in the performance of their duties and functions as a member of the House of Commons if the candidate were to be elected, during the period that

  • (a) begins on the day on which they are deemed to have become a candidate; and

  • (b) ends on

    • (i) the day on which they withdraw, if they withdraw in accordance with subsection 74(1),

    • (ii) the day on which they become a member of the House of Commons, if they are elected, or

    • (iii) polling day, in any other case.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite subsection (1), a candidate may accept a gift or other advantage that is given by a relative or as a normal expression of courtesy or protocol.

• Marginal note:Statement of candidate

  (3) The candidate shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a statement in the prescribed form that discloses, in respect of all gifts or other advantages that the candidate accepted during the period referred to in subsection (1) whose benefit to the candidate exceeds $500 or, if accepted from the same person or entity in that period, exceeds a total of $500, other than gifts or other advantages given by relatives or made by way of an unconditional, non-discretionary testamentary disposition,

  • (a) the nature of each gift or other advantage, its commercial value and the cost, if any, to the candidate;

  • (b) the name and address of the person or entity giving the gift or other advantage; and

  • (c) the circumstances under which the gift or other advantage was given.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the benefit to a candidate of a gift or other advantage that is a service or property, or the use of property or money, is the difference between the commercial value of the service or property or the use of the property or money and the cost, if any, to the candidate.

• Marginal note:Period for providing statement

  (5) The candidate shall provide the statement to the Chief Electoral Officer within four months after

  • (a) polling day; or

  • (b) the day on which a notice of the withdrawal or deemed withdrawal of the writ for the election is published in the Canada Gazette under subsection 59(2) or section 551.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (6) The following definitions apply in this section.

  common-law partnership

  common-law partnership means the relationship between two persons who are cohabiting in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year. (union de fait)

  gift or other advantage

  gift or other advantage means

  • (a) an amount of money if there is no obligation to repay it; and

  • (b) a service or property, or the use of property or money, that is provided without charge or at less than its commercial value.

  It does not include a contribution made by an eligible individual under Division 1 of this Part to the official agent of a candidate that does not exceed the limits set out in that Division, or a provision of goods or services or a transfer of funds under section 364. (cadeau ou autre avantage)

  relative

  relative, in respect of a candidate, means a person related to the candidate by marriage, common-law partnership, birth, adoption or affinity. (parent)