Bill 136 explained in plain English
Responsible Flyer Delivery Act, 2026
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 136 would prohibit the distribution of promotional flyers and similar materials at private homes, with exceptions for political materials from elected officials, candidates, and government agencies.
Bill 136, the Responsible Flyer Delivery Act, 2026, is a private member's bill that would prohibit most people from leaving promotional materials (such as flyers, brochures, leaflets, catalogues, and similar items) in visible locations at private residences. However, there are exceptions. The prohibition does not apply to: (1) promotional materials prepared by the constituency offices of municipal councillors, Members of the Provincial Assembly, or Members of Parliament; (2) campaign materials from candidates or registered political parties during election periods, but only if there is no mailbox at the dwelling; or (3) materials from the Government of Ontario or Government of Canada. The bill also does not restrict Canada Post employees when they are delivering mail. The act would come into force upon receiving Royal Assent.
- Prohibits any person from leaving promotional materials (flyers, brochures, prospectuses, leaflets, catalogues, or materials promoting products, services, events, or organizations) in visible locations at private dwellings
- Creates exceptions to the prohibition for promotional materials from constituency offices of municipal councillors, members of the Provincial Assembly, and Members of Parliament
- Allows candidates and registered political parties to distribute promotional materials during election periods if no mailbox is present at the dwelling
- Exempts promotional materials from the Government of Ontario or Government of Canada from the prohibition
- Excludes Canada Post employees from the prohibition when engaged in mail delivery
- Sets the definition of election period as: for federal or provincial elections, from the day a writ is issued until polling day; for municipal elections, from 60 days before polling day until polling day
- Comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent
- Persons who distribute or wish to distribute promotional materials at private dwellings
- Residents of private dwellings
- Commercial and business entities that distribute flyers or promotional materials
- Municipal councillors, Members of the Provincial Assembly, and Members of Parliament distributing constituent materials
- Candidates for municipal, provincial, or federal office
- Registered political parties
- Canada Post and its employees
- The Government of Ontario and Government of Canada
- No person may leave promotional materials in visible locations at private dwellings, unless they fall within one of the specified exceptions
- Constituency offices of elected officials may distribute promotional materials without restriction
- Candidates and registered political parties may distribute promotional materials during election periods if no mailbox is present at the dwelling
- Canada Post employees may deliver mail without restriction from this prohibition
- Residents of private dwellings would have the right to be free from promotional material distribution except from the specified exempt sources
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (no specific date is provided in the bill text)
- Election period for federal or provincial elections is defined as starting when a writ is issued and ending on polling day
- Election period for municipal elections is defined as starting 60 days before polling day and ending on polling day
- No financial or tax impacts are specified in the bill
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for violation of the prohibition
- The bill does not define what constitutes a 'visible location' at a private dwelling, which could lead to interpretation disputes
- The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms, who would enforce the prohibition, or how violations would be handled
- The bill does not specify penalties for breaching the prohibition
- It is unclear whether the prohibition applies to placement in or on mailboxes, or only to other visible locations
- The bill does not specify remedies available to residents if the prohibition is violated
- The legislative status indicates the bill is at First Reading ordered for Second Reading, meaning it has not yet been voted on or passed
- The bill does not address how the new prohibition would interact with any existing municipal bylaws or regulations on flyer distribution
The bill references the definition of 'candidate' from the Municipal Elections Act to determine who can distribute materials during municipal election periods
Source: Section 2(b)
The bill references the definition of 'registered party' from the Election Finances Act to determine eligible political parties for campaign material distribution
Source: Section 2(b)
The bill references the definition of 'registered party' from the Canada Elections Act to determine eligible federal political parties for campaign material distribution
Source: Section 2(b)
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 textProcess Snapshot
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