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Thinking about becoming a candidate

There are many reasons why you might decide to run as a candidate in a federal election. For example:

  • You've been recruited by a political party
  • You want to make a difference in your community
  • You want to highlight issues that matters to you
  • You have the right skills for the job
  • You want to represent your values in public policy and laws

Running in a federal election is one way you can be part of the democratic process.

Representation matters

In a democracy, all citizens should feel that their elected officials represent them equally and fairly. In Canada, people who are eligible have the democratic right to run as a candidate in a federal election. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects this right.

This guide is designed to help you understand everything you need to run in an election.

What to consider when becoming a candidate

It takes time and effort to run in an election. Here are three areas to consider if you're thinking about becoming a candidate:

  1. Finances
  2. Employment
  3. Accessibility

1Finances

There are strict rules around the financing of political campaigns before, during and after an election.

All candidates have limits to how much money they can:

This means that candidates may have to fundraise, or ask for donations from supporters. To encourage donations, you can issue official receipts for income tax purposes for political contributions.

Electoral campaign expenses

The Canada Elections Act defines an electoral campaign expense of a candidate as a reasonable expense made because of (or for) the election, regardless of when it was made. When you run as a candidate, Elections Canada can reimburse some of your campaign expenses.

There are six categories of electoral campaign expenses. Here are some examples for each category:

  1. Election expenses: Buying election signs, office supplies
  2. Candidate's personal expenses: Child care, your disability or the disability of a dependent
  3. Candidate's travel and living expenses: Travel, lodging, meals
  4. Candidate's litigation expenses: A judicial recount, extension requests
  5. Accessibility expenses: Making a website accessible, getting documents made in accessible formats (braille, large print, etc.)
  6. Other electoral campaign expenses: Renting an office outside an election period

The rules are not the same for all types of expenses. Certain people on the campaign team are allowed to submit expenses. There are also limits on the expenses that can be reimbursed. Chapters 7 to 14 in the Political Financing Handbook for Candidates and Official Agents explains the different categories of election expenses and the rules around each of them.

2Employment

In some cases, your employer must grant you a leave of absence from your job if you are running as a candidate in a federal election. Check the Canada Elections Act for more information.

3Accessibility

If you identify as a person with a disability, and want to run as a federal candidate, some of the expenses related to your disability may be reimbursed (this is also known as a disability-related personal expense). All candidates could also be reimbursed for expenses used to improve your campaign's accessibility for electors with a disability (this is also known as an accessibility expense).

The Political Financing Handbook for Candidates and Official Agents breaks down these expenses. It explains in more detail what are and what are not considered expenses, who can incur and pay these expenses and how to report them, and it gives specific examples.

In 2019, the Canada Elections Act was changed to improve the accessibility of election campaigns for people with a disability.

  • The Elections Canada website shows what counts as an accessibility expense or a disability-related personal expense, how the expenses are calculated and how they're allocated when the two categories overlap.

Resources

The following resources give you a better understanding of how government works, what it means to run in a federal election and what political life is like.

Information on Canada's history and government

Information on candidate campaigns

Elections Canada made three short videos about running as a candidate in a federal election.

Reflections on being a candidate

The Samara Centre for Democracy conducts research and brings people together to enhance civic engagement in Canada. Their goal is to make it easier to talk about and participate in politics.

More support

There are other national organizations whose goal is to support people who want to run as a candidate.