Bill S-227 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, 3rd 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
This bill amends the Canada Elections Act to include pre-election advertising expenses within the definition of election expenses and to adjust related spending limits.
Bill S-227, titled 'An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (election expenses)', proposes to expand the definition of election expenses to include certain advertising costs incurred in the three months before an election period. It also makes adjustments to how these expenses are counted towards spending limits for registered parties, electoral district associations, and candidates. The bill specifies how these new rules apply to by-elections and situations where elections occur close together.
- Amends the Canada Elections Act to include certain pre-election advertising expenses as election expenses.
- Clarifies how these pre-election expenses are treated for registered parties, electoral district associations, and candidates.
- Specifies that these new rules do not apply to by-elections.
- Provides rules for when elections occur within a short period of each other.
- Adjusts definitions related to incurred costs.
- Registered parties
- Electoral district associations
- Candidates
- Eligible parties
- Chief Electoral Officer (implied through administration of the Act)
- Election expenses now include specific pre-election advertising costs.
- Limits on election expenses are adjusted to account for pre-election advertising.
- A special rule applies if two or more elections occur within three months of each other.
- The amendments apply to costs incurred or contributions received on or after the day the Act receives royal assent.
- The amendments do not apply to costs incurred or contributions received before the day the Act receives royal assent.
- The rules for costs and contributions apply to elections where the writ is issued within six months after the Act receives royal assent, even if the costs were incurred before royal assent.
- The bill impacts spending limits for registered parties and candidates by including certain pre-election advertising expenses within the definition of election expenses.
- The bill does not specify the exact penalties for exceeding these new or adjusted spending limits, but the Canada Elections Act generally includes provisions for penalties related to exceeding election expense limits.
- The bill does not explicitly state the effective date for all provisions, relying on 'royal assent' for the general application of amendments.
Changes the definition of election expenses to include costs for advertising used to directly promote or oppose a registered party, its leader, or a candidate during the three months before an election period. It also modifies rules for when expenses are considered incurred, how they apply to electoral district associations, and sets specific limits.
Source: Section 407
Introduces a rule that for eligible parties, if they become registered within three months before an election period, they are considered registered from the start of that three-month period for the purposes of subsection 407(1.1).
Source: Section 370
Specifies that for the purpose of calculating a registered party's election expenses under this section, any expenses that would otherwise be included under subsection 407(1.1) are excluded.
Source: Section 435
States that for the purposes of sections 464 and 465, a candidate's election expenses will not include expenses that would otherwise be included under subsection 407(1.1), including those deemed to be included under subsection 407(1.4).
Source: Section 465.1
Modifies the definition of 'cost incurred' to mean an expense that is incurred, whether it has been paid or remains unpaid.
Source: Section 407(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 Response speech 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