Determination of election expenses
67(1)In this Act “election expenses” means all expenditures incurred during an election period for the purpose of promoting or opposing directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or that of the candidates of a party, including every person who subsequently becomes or who is likely to become a candidate, and includes all expenditures incurred before an election period for literature, objects or materials of an advertising nature used during the election period for such purposes.
67(2)Notwithstanding subsection (1), “election expenses” does not include:
(a)
the publishing in a newspaper or other periodical of editorials, news, reports, or letters to the editor, if
(i)
they are published in the same manner and under the same standards as prevail outside an election period, without payment, reward or promise of payment or reward, and
(ii)
the newspaper, or other periodical is not established for the purpose of the election or with a view to the election;
(b)
the transmission by a broadcasting undertaking of a broadcast of news or comment, if such broadcast is made in the same manner and under the same standards as prevail outside the election period, without payment, reward or promise of payment or reward;
(c)
the reasonable expenses incurred by a candidate or any other person, out of his own money, for his own lodging and food during a journey for election purposes, if such expenses are not reimbursed to him;
(d)
the reasonable expenses incurred by a candidate, or any other person, out of his own money, for his own transportation, during a journey for election purposes, if such expenses are not reimbursed to him;
(e)
the sum required to be deposited with a candidate’s nomination paper;
(f)
the reasonable expenses incurred for the publication of explanatory commentaries on the
Elections Act and the instructions issued under its authority, if such commentaries are strictly objective and contain no statements of such a nature to support or oppose a candidate or a political party;
(f.01)
the reasonable expenses incurred by a registered political party for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations under Part 1 of the
Transparency in Election Commitments Act;
(f.1)
Repealed: 2015, c.6, s.12
(g)
the reasonable expenses usually incurred for the current operation of the principal permanent office of a registered political party in the Province, if the leader of such party, before the seventh day following the issue of the writs has given written notice to the Supervisor of the existence of such office, and of its exact address; and
(h)
expenditures incurred by any person in the course of or for the purpose of making a donation not considered a contribution under this Act.
67(3)For the purpose of paragraph (2)(
g), the principal permanent office of a registered political party is the principal office where, in order to ensure dissemination of the political programme of such party and to coordinate the political activity of its members, employees of the party or of a body associated therewith work on a permanent basis outside the election period, for the attainment of its objects.
67(4)All costs incurred in relation to holding a convention for the selection of a candidate for an electoral district during a general election or a by-election in that district other than
(a)
the cost of renting a hall for the convention;
(b)
the cost of advertising the date, place, time, programme and organizers of the convention;
(c)
the cost of the convening of delegates to the convention;
(d)
the cost of providing refreshments and entertainment for those attending the convention;
(e)
the expenses of up to one thousand dollars of the candidate selected at the convention; and
(f)
the reasonable expenses of all other candidates at the convention,
shall be deemed to be election expenses of the candidate selected for that electoral district and such expenses shall be deemed to have been incurred by the official agent of that candidate.
67(5)Election expenses may be incurred only in accordance with this Act and only by or on behalf of registered political parties or candidates.
1980, c.40, s.4; 2014, c.63, s.39; 2015, c.6, s.12; 2017, c.28, s.37; 2018, c.1, s.26