In recent weeks, members of the Citizen round table have discussed political financing during two half-day meetings. A topic discussed for the first time around the table.
For this occasion, Élections Québec called upon two experts on the issues of political parties and political financing in Québec. Mr. Éric Montigny, professor in the Political Science Department at Université Laval and scientific director of the Research Chair on democracy and parliamentary institutions, and Mr. Simon Couture, ticket leader of the political financing coordination team at Élections Québec, addressed the members in turn. Their presentations enlightened the members and prepared them for the second meeting workshops, whose objective was to gather their opinions on different political financing concepts.
Opinions and recommendations summary
Members voiced many opinions and recommendations on issues such as public funding, crowdfunding and political contributions during the workshops. In short, these opinions and recommendations are:
- In a reflection on political financing, a majority of members propose to review sources of public funding and crowdfunding to promote a balance between them (between 40% and 60%). A minority of members proposed maintaining the current proportions (75% public funding and 25% crowdfunding).
- Evaluate public funding mechanisms to ensure that they allow for the emergence and consolidation of new ideas and political parties. Several members propose that the prescribed allowance and matching amounts be regressive (first votes and first dollars in contributions could result in larger amounts, which would gradually decrease).
- Evaluate the limit set for contributions in terms of fairness, accessibility and plurality principles. The amount authorized should not lead to believe that people making a contribution are to expect a benefit in return. Most members set this limit between $100 and $250, but some go as high as $500 (for many political parties or candidates).
All opinions and recommendations of members will contribute to the Chief Electoral Officer’s reflection on political financing.
Read the abridged minutes of these two meetings to learn more about the discussions held by the members of the Citizen round table.
Citizen round table
The Citizen round table is a space for reflection and discussion that aims to promote citizen participation and feed our reflection in electoral matters. The members, twelve electors appointed for a two-year term, give us their opinion, in an impartial and non-partisan manner, on questions relating to the Québec election system, in the interest of the Québec population.
