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Elections - Ontario (2). Ontario (Attorney General) v. Working Families Coalition (Canada) Inc.
In Ontario (Attorney General) v. Working Families Coalition (Canada) Inc. (SCC, 2025) the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal, this from an appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal which was allowed and held that an Ontario Election Finances Act (EFA) "spending limit violated the right to vote under s. 3" ['Democratic rights of citizens'] of the Charter.
Here the court reviews the EFA as successfully challenged:[17] The challenged spending limit on political advertising was first enacted in 2017 as part of broader electoral financing reforms. The spending limit was set at $600,000 for third parties, for six months before the writ was drawn up. The legislature amended the EFA in 2021 (Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021, S.O. 2021, c. 5). Among other amendments, the pre-writ period was extended to 12 months, while the $600,000 cap remained the same. Section 37.10.1(2) limits spending on third party advertising to $24,000 in any one electoral district and to $600,000 in total (indexed to inflation) during the 12-month period before the election period.
[18] The definition of “political advertising” has not been changed since 2017. It is a defined term under s. 1(1) of the EFA:“political advertising” means advertising in any broadcast, print, electronic or other medium with the purpose of promoting or opposing any registered party or its leader or the election of a registered candidate and includes advertising that takes a position on an issue that can reasonably be regarded as closely associated with a registered party or its leader or a registered candidate and “political advertisement” has a corresponding meaning .... The definition also lists examples of communications that are not included, such as editorials and speeches, or the transmission of personal political views on the Internet. In addition, s. 37.0.1 sets out a non-exhaustive list of factors that the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario must consider in determining whether an advertisement is a political advertisement.
[19] The EFA also regulates political advertising by political parties. In the six-month period right before the election period, political parties may spend up to $1,000,000 (s. 38.1). Before that period, political parties are not subject to any spending limits.
[20] Alongside spending limits, the EFA includes anti-collusion provisions, which prevent third parties from circumventing the limits by colluding with others (see s. 37.10.1(3) and (4)). The regime also has attribution provisions, which deem contributions of one third party to another as part of the political advertising expenses of the contributing third party (s. 37.10.1(3.1)). The EFA requires extensive compliance reporting (ss. 37.10.2, 37.12 and 37.13). For example, a third party must file an interim report each time its political advertising spending increases by $1,000 or more, and another report after reaching the total spending limit (s. 37.10.2(1)). The Chief Electoral Officer may order persons or organizations to pay administrative penalties for contravening these provisions of the EFA (ss. 45.1, 46.0.2, 47 and 48).
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