In Canada, a registered third party is a "a person or group that wants to participate in or influence elections other than as a political party, electoral district association, nomination contestant or candidate." Third parties register with
Elections Canada
Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electi ...
and are regulated under the terms of the ''
Canada Elections Act
The ''Canada Elections Act'' (french: Loi électorale du Canada; full title: ''An Act respecting the election of members to the House of Commons, repealing other Acts relating to elections and making consequential amendments to other Acts'', full ...
''.
Third parties are subject to different regulations for campaign and pre-campaign periods. There are no limits to what a third party can spend on political advertising pre-campaign — spending rules are only in force once
the writ is dropped and the campaign has officially begun. A person or group must register as a third party immediately after incurring election advertising expenses totalling $500 or more.
There are strict limits on advertising expenses, as well as specific limits that can be incurred to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a particular electoral district.
It is illegal for a third party and a registered political party or a candidate to collude with each other for the purpose of circumventing the maximum amount that a registered party is allowed for election expenses.
Federal general elections
2015 Election
Registered third parties
There were 112 registered third parties in the 2015 federal election:
A partial list includes the following:
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Canadian Media Guild
The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) is a trade union representing employees at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (outside Quebec and New Brunswick), the Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Netw ...
*
Canadian Medical Association
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; french: Association médicale canadienne, AMC) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive ch ...
* Diane Babcock
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Dogwood Initiative
* Downtown Mission of Windsor Inc.
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Fair Vote Canada
Fair Vote Canada (FVC) (french: Represéntation équitable au Canada) is a grassroots, nonprofit, multi-partisan citizens' movement for electoral reform in Canada. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, it promotes the introduction of an element o ...
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Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (FRIENDS) is a Canadian advocacy group that monitors developments in the Canadian television and radio broadcasting industries. The group promotes expansion of public broadcasting, investment in Canadian content, a ...
*
IATSE
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, known as simply the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE or ...
*
LeadNow
* ''Les Sans-Chemise'' (''Conseil National des Chômeurs et Chômeuses'', National Council of Unemployed People)
*
UNIFOR
Unifor is a general trade union in Canada and the largest private sector union in Canada. It was founded in 2013 as a merger of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions, and consists of 310,000 workers a ...
* Voters Against Harper
2015 Advertising Spending Limits
*Total election advertising expenses limit: $439,410.81
*Total election advertising expenses limit in a given electoral district: $8,788.22
2011 Election
There were 55 registered third parties in the 2011 federal election:
* Ashraf Ali Rao
* Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)
* AVAAZ
* BC Health Coalition
* BCWF Political Action Alliance
* British Columbia Nurses' Union
* British Columbia Teachers' Federation
* Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
* Canadian Health Coalition
* Canadian Labour Congress
* Canadian Multicultural Association
* Canadian Shooting Sports Association
* Canadian Union of Public Employees
* Canadian Wheat Board Alliance
* Canadians Defending Democracy
* Canadians Rising Up For Democracy
* Catch 22 Campaign
* Catholic Civil Rights League
* CAW-Canada
* Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC)
* Citizens for Truth in Politics
* CMI – ICM Canadian Migration Institute
* Coalition for Gun Control
* Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC
* Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP)
* Conservation Voters of BC
* Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations of British Columbia
* Dogwood Initiative
* Elizabeth Will Group
* End Racism Now
* Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
* Gesher Canada
* Immigration Practitioners and Academics for a Just Immigration Policy
* International Fund for Animal Welfare Inc. (IFAW)
* International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
* John W. Fossey
* Kam-Wing Chiu
* Les Sans-Chemise
* Matilda Wong
* National Citizens Coalition
* Project Democracy
* Public Service Alliance of Canada
* Richmond Watch
* Save Our Prison Farms
* Smart Tax Alliance – BC
* Society of Professional Engineers and Associates (SPEA)
* Sport Fishing Institute of BC
* The Council of Canadians
* The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
* UFCW Canada
* Vancouver Fire Fighters' Union Local 18
* Whip Harper
* Wong John Gok Git
* Yee Lai Leung
* Yik-Lan Lo
References
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