Election Campaign Finance

A contribution is any money, personal property, real property or service that is given to a candidate to support their campaign.

• Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta may contribute to your election campaign and the maximum they can contribute is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period.  There is no limit on the number of candidates an eligible individual can contribute to.

• As a candidate, you may contribute up to $10,000 for your own funds to your election campaign during the campaign period.

• Contributions are not permitted from individuals who do not reside in Alberta or from prohibited organizations, including corporations, unincorporated organizations, trade unions and employee organizations.

• Candidates must not accept anonymous contributions.

The Local Authorities Election Act, which governs municipal elections in Alberta, does not legislate an age requirement for campaign contributions.  Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta can contribute to a campaign. 

• A business would need to ensure that by sharing such information, they are not making a campaign contribution as it is the prospective contributor’s responsibility to ensure that before they make a contribution under Part 5.1 of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) that they are not prohibited from making a contribution. 

• A business would also need to review the LAEA Part 8 Third Party Advertising, which regulates third party advertising. A third-party advertiser is an individual, corporation or group that promotes or opposed the election of a candidate through election advertising during the election advertising period from January 1, 2025, to end of the election day on October 20th, 2025.  A third party is required to register with the Municipality if they intend to incur expenses or accept contributions of at least $1000.

• No; electoral candidates may not accept contributions on the promise that the candidate will do anything for the contributor if they gain office. 

• Councilors cannot participate in Council meetings where they have a pecuniary interest, and a campaign contribution which was given on the understanding that the candidate would act in the contributor’s favour would qualify as a pecuniary interest. 

• Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta may contribute to your election campaign and the maximum they can contribute is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period. There is no limit on the number of candidates an eligible individual can contribute to. 

• Contributions are not permitted from individuals who do not reside in Alberta or from prohibited organizations, including corporations, unincorporated organizations, trade unions and employee organizations. 

• Candidates must not accept anonymous contributions. 

• Candidates are required to issue receipts for every contribution accepted and retain receipts for every expense incurred. 

• Receipts issued for contributions of personal property, real property or services, must be for the fair market value of that contribution. 

• Issued receipts must include:
  • Name of the candidate or campaign.
  • Date of contribution.
  • Name of the contributor.
  • Address of the contributor.
  • Amount or value of the contribution. 

• Candidates are permitted to host fundraising functions, and the donation portion of the fundraising contributions is subject to contribution limits and disclosure requirements. 

• Candidates must record the gross income from any fundraising function held on behalf of the candidate. 

• If the fundraising event is a ticketed event, the candidate has the option of calculating the contribution amount in one of two ways:
  • By determining the difference between the cost of the ticket and the value of the goods or services that the attendee is entitled to receive;
  • By using the below calculation:

A campaign expense is any expense incurred by the candidate’s campaign to directly promote a candidate and currently there is no provincial regulation limiting the expense amount. The following election campaign expenses are permitted under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA): 

• the production and distribution of advertising or promotional material; 

• the payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity; 

• securing a meeting place; 

• the conduct of surveys or research during the campaign period; or 

• the production of a review engagement required under the LAEA.  

Note: A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s disclosure statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent. 

• A candidate can hire campaign staff and family members can serve in these roles. The payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity, such as a campaign manager, is permitted.   

• Candidates may appoint scrutineers to observe the voting process, and the role of scrutineer is legislated.  The person appointed must be at least 18 years old and must not have been convicted of an offense under the Local Authorities Election Act, the Elections Act, the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act or the Canada Elections Act within the last 10 years. 

• Candidates must give proper direction to any person authorized to accept or solicit campaign contributions or incur expenses and ensure anyone working on their campaign follows all legislation and regulations. 

There are no tools to help estimate how much a typical campaign will cost.  The Local Authorities Election Act Part 5.1 requires campaign finance and contribution disclosure for all candidates running for municipal office and governs contributions, expenses, fund-raising, accounting obligations, surpluses, and deficits. Currently, the legislation does not regulate campaign expense limits. 

• Candidates must open a bank account for their campaign finances as soon as possible after the total amount of campaign contributions reaches $1,000. 

• Campaign bank accounts must: 

• Be opened at a financial institution. 

• Be in the name of the candidate or the candidate’s campaign. 

• Be used to deposit all monetary contributions received by the candidate. 

• Be used to pay for all expenses incurred by the candidate. 

The campaign bank account must only be used for the deposit of monetary campaign contributions and the payment of allowable campaign expenses. 

• All candidates for municipal council are required to file by March 4, 2025 the Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement (Campaign Disclosure Statement), which records the contributions received and expenses incurred by the candidate during the campaign period must be filed by March 4, 2025. The candidate must retain all campaign financial records for three years after the March 4, 2025 filing deadline. 

• Candidates who withdraw their nomination prior to the withdrawal deadline of 12 noon, October 8, 2025 must also file the Campaign Disclosure Statement. 

• The Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement must include: 

• The total contributions 

• The source of contributions 

• Total expenses 

and the candidate must disclose: 

• The name and address of all individuals who contribute $50.01 or more. 

• Any amount received outside the campaign period of January 1, 2025 to December 31st 2025. There is a $5,000 limit outside the campaign period. 

• An itemized list of expenses. 

• A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s Campaign Disclosure Statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent. 

• If a candidate has a surplus (contributions exceed their expenses during the campaign period), they must act on their surplus within 60 days of filing their Campaign Disclosure Statement. 

• If the surplus is less than $1000, the candidate can:
  • Retain the surplus
  • Donate all or a portion of the surplus to a registered charity 
    
    
• If the surplus is more than $1000, the candidate must:
  • Donate all or a portion to a registered charity

If a portion is donated to a registered charity, the remaining surplus that is retained must be less than $1000. 

Candidates who donate all or a portion of their surplus must file an amended Campaign Disclosure Statement that confirms that the surplus has been dealt with in accordance with the above. 

• Candidates are only permitted to use monetary campaign contributions for the payment of campaign expenses.  The following election campaign expenses are permitted under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA):
  • the production and distribution of advertising or promotional material;
  • the payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity;
  • securing a meeting place;
  • the conduct of surveys or research during the campaign period; or
  • the production of a review engagement required under the LAEA. 
    
    

Note: A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s disclosure statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent. 

• If a candidate has a deficit (expenses exceed their contributions during the campaign period), they must take action to eliminate their deficit within 60 days of filing their Campaign Disclosure Statement. 

• To eliminate their deficit, candidates may receive contributions to do this, including their own self-funded contributions; however, the contribution limits apply to these contributions as well. 

• Candidates must file an amended Campaign Disclosure Statement that confirms that the deficit has been eliminated. 

Candidates, who have filed their nomination for Municipal Council, can only accept campaign contributions from any individual who is ordinarily a resident of Alberta, and the maximum individual contribution is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period of January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. Candidates may contribute up to $10,000 of their own funds to their campaign. By March 1, 2026, all candidates are required to file campaign disclosure statements, which includes the contributor’s name if the amount received from that contributor exceeds $50 in total.  All disclosure statements and supporting documents are available for public viewing during regular business hours for a period of 4 years after the election.

• Candidates can only accept campaign contributions from an individual who is ordinarily a resident of Alberta, and the maximum individual contribution is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. Candidates may contribute up to $10,000 of their own funds to their campaign. By March 1, 2026, all candidates are required to file disclosure statements, which includes the contributor’s name and address if the amount received from that contributor exceeds $50 in total.  All disclosure statements and supporting documents are available for public viewing during regular business hours for a period of 4 years after the election.

• The provincial Election Commissioner is responsible for conducting any investigations related to election finances and contributions disclosure. Any individual who has concerns with a candidate’s finances should contact the Election Commissioner’s office by one of the methods outlined at: https://www.elections.ab.ca/investigations/.  

A third party is required to register with the Municipality if they intend to incur expenses or accept contributions of at least $1000. If a third party plans to advertise in more than 10 jurisdictions, they must register with the Provincial Registrar appointed by Municipal Affairs and not with the Municipality. 

A third-party advertiser (third party) is an individual, corporation or group that promotes or opposes the election of a candidate through election advertising from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.

The Local Authorities Election Act Part 8 was amended prior to the 2021 General Municipal Election to include legislation governing the finances and accountability of third parties. The rules regarding contributions, receipting, handling of funds and disclosure reporting generally parallel the rules that apply to municipal candidates, and where possible, the requirements set out for provincial campaigns. 

A third party must know all reporting requirements, expense limits and who is eligible to make contributions, and will be required to file disclosure statements detailing advertisements, expenses and contributions received. A third party is required to issue receipts for every advertising contribution accepted by the third party, which includes the date of the contribution, name and address of the contributor, and the amount contributed.

This information is intended to assist third party advertisers for the 2025 election, has no legislative sanction and is not inclusive of all the information related to municipal elections, election procedures and election legislation. It is not a substitute for legal advice. It is recommended that you obtain a copy of the Local Authorities Election Act and other relevant legislation. 

It is the third party’s responsibility to read and understand all legislation concerning elections and to seek legal and accounting advice from professionals or to contact Municipal Affairs regarding requirements under provincial legislation. 

To register as a third party advertiser, you must follow the below steps: 

Meet all eligibility requirements - you must be one of the following: 

• An individual who resides in Alberta; 
• A group of which all members reside in Alberta; 
• A corporation that carries out business in Alberta; or 
• An Alberta trade union or Alberta employee organization. Depending on its structure, a trade union or employee organization may be either a corporation or a group. 

The following are not eligible to be registered as a third party: 

• A candidate running for office; 
• Any individual, group or corporation that does not meet the eligibility requirements listed above; 
• A registered charity; and 
• A prohibited corporation as described in the Elections Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.  

Complete Form 27 – Registration of a Third Party and submit with any required supporting materials: 

• If the third party filing the registration form has a governing body, a copy of the resolution authorizing the third party to incur election advertising expenses must be included with the form; and 
• If the third party filing the registration form is a group, a listing of the principal Officers or Members must be included with the form.

Drop off, mail or courier your completed forms and any required supporting materials to:  

Legislative Services
4917 Hankin Street
P.O. Box 297
Thorsby, AB T0C 2P0

The Municipality cannot approve the registration of a third party if: 

1. The proposed name, or the abbreviation of the proposed name, closely resembles or creates confusion with the name, abbreviation of a name or a nickname of a candidate; or 
2. The proposed name was the name of a registered third party whose registration was cancelled or whose name has changed since the last election.

All registrations must be accepted by the Returning Officer before the third party can incur expenses or accept contributions of $1000 or more. 

As a registered third party, you will be required to file Form 28: Third Party Advertising Contribution Statement, which will be available from Municipal Affairs prior to the deadline at https://www.alberta.ca/municipal-elections.aspx.  

A list of registered third parties will be published once the election advertising period begins. The registry will include the following information: 

• Name of the Third Party Advertiser 
• Name of Chief Financial Officer 
• Name and phone number of the Primary Contact 
• Website 
• Date of Registration  

Municipal Affairs is available to answer questions on legislative changes and the impacts on campaigns in municipal elections. Please call 780-427-2225 or toll free in Alberta 310-000 or visit Municipal elections | Alberta.ca