Bill S-236 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (election expenses)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-236 amends the Canada Elections Act to include pre-election advertising expenses within the three months prior to an election period under the definition of election expenses.
Bill S-236 proposes changes to the Canada Elections Act. It aims to include certain expenses made in the three months before an election period as election expenses. This would extend the limits on election expenses to cover pre-election advertising costs.
- It expands the definition of election expenses to include costs for promoting or opposing a registered party, its leader, or a candidate during the three months before an election period.
- It clarifies how these pre-election expenses are treated concerning expense limits for registered parties and candidates.
- It excludes pre-election expenses from certain sections of the Act that deal with the reporting of election expenses for registered parties and candidates.
- Registered parties
- Electoral district associations
- Candidates
- Voters (indirectly, through campaign finance regulations)
- Registered parties and candidates will have their pre-election advertising expenses counted towards their overall election expense limits.
- Electoral district associations' pre-election expenses will be treated as candidate expenses for specific reporting requirements.
- Special rules apply when election periods are close together to avoid expenses being counted for multiple elections.
- The amendments apply to costs incurred or non-monetary contributions received on or after the day the bill receives royal assent.
- These amendments apply to elections for which the writ is issued within six months after the bill receives royal assent, even if section 554 of the Canada Elections Act would otherwise apply.
- Expenses for advertising that promotes or opposes a registered party, its leader, or a candidate in the three months before an election period will count towards election expense limits.
- The bill does not specify the exact amounts for the limits on election expenses, but rather states that the pre-election expenses will be subject to existing limits.
- The bill does not provide details on how 'directly promote or oppose' will be interpreted in practice.
- The bill does not explicitly state what happens if the pre-election expenses of a candidate or party are paid or received before the bill receives royal assent but after the three-month pre-election period.
Amends section 370 to deem eligible parties registered from the beginning of the three-month period before an election period for the purposes of subsection 407(1.1).
Source: Section 1
Amends section 407 to define election expenses as including costs or non-monetary contributions used to promote or oppose a registered party, its leader, or a candidate during the three months before an election period. It also clarifies that this definition does not apply to by-elections, has special rules for candidate expenses before an official agent is appointed, and deems electoral district association expenses as candidate expenses for certain reporting purposes. It further specifies rules for when election periods are close together and when pre-election expenses exceed maximum limits.
Source: Section 2
Amends section 435 to exclude pre-election expenses (as defined under subsection 407(1.1)) from a registered party's election expenses for the purposes of that section.
Source: Section 3
Adds section 465.1 to exclude pre-election expenses (as defined under subsection 407(1.1) and 407(1.4)) from a candidate's election expenses for the purposes of sections 464 and 465.
Source: Section 4
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Sponsor’s speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced