Canada Elections Act: What You Can Do Without Registering

In our last article, we discussed the registration requirements that may apply to charities and non-profits that carry on certain regulated activities, including election advertising, election surveys, and partisan activities (in the case of non-profits). For more information about the third-party registration requirement in the Canada Elections Act, read Public messaging during an election period: You may need to register ASAP. We emphasized that these requirements do not prohibit a charity from carrying on its activities. They simply require registration. If your organization is required to register, it may do so at no cost on Elections Canada's website.

In this article, we will focus on what a charity and non-profit can do between now and when the polls close on election day, without triggering the requirement to register. Communicating about public policy is permissible, provided it is done under one of the exceptions identified by Elections Canada. To help