In this section
Subject matter
- Political financing (public and independent)
- Pre-election and election expenses
- Use of government resources
General objective
Ensure that the political financing regime and the control of election expenses reflect the egalitarian nature of Québec’s election system.
Background
Public funding
Public political financing is divided into three main mechanisms: allowances (annual and election-related); matching sums (annual and election-related); and partial reimbursement (50%) of election expenses. Authorized political parties running for their first election and independent candidates are only entitled to certain types of financing.
Independent financing
Only electors are allowed to make political contributions. The maximum amount they can contribute per year is $100. They can make an additional contribution of $100 for a general election or by-election. These amounts are not subject to indexation.
Election expenses
Only expenses related to goods or services used during the election period are restricted and subject to specific limits. Outside this period, there are few restrictions on spending by political entities, even if political financing is regulated at all times.
Other players in civil society (known as third parties) cannot incur election expenses (with the exception of private intervenors), but most of their activities are not governed by the Election Act, outside the election period.
Challenges
Two major amendments have been made to the Election Act.
- The share of public funding has increased: it accounts for more than 70% of political party funding since 2014
- Elections are now held on a fixed date
It is time to look into the consequences of the significant increase in the proportion of political financing by the government.
Fixed-date elections levelled the chances of electoral competitors by making the election date predictable. However, they led to a significant increase in spending by political parties before the election is called. Other civil society players are also in a position to carry out pre-election activities.
Moreover, pre-election campaigns blur the difference between partisan, parliamentary and governmental activities. They increase the risk of public resources being used for purely partisan purposes.
Recommendations
We make five recommendations for legislative amendments related to political financing and election expenses. In addition, we will be pursuing two complementary actions that do not require amendments to the Election Act.
Political financing model
Improving the fairness and integrity of political financing
- Reduce the rate of valid votes required for candidates to qualify for reimbursement of their election expenses.
At this time, candidates must obtain 15% of the valid votes in the electoral division. We propose lowering this rate to 10%. - Require that the payment of party membership fees be reserved for people domiciled in Québec.
Currently, a person does not need to be a qualified elector or domiciled in Québec to become a member of a political party. We believe that only people domiciled in Québec should be able to pay to join a party.
Complementary action by Élections Québec: continuing work on evaluating the political financing framework.
Pre-election expenses
Introducing a special framework for the pre-election period
- Improve the transparency of pre-election activities of political parties.
Political parties should file a return of pre-election expenses showing their advertising expenses. This would give us an accurate picture of the situation and we could ensure that expenses incurred in the pre-election period comply with the Election Act. - Ensure the transparency of pre-election activities of third parties.
Third parties who spend more than a certain amount on partisan advertising should register with the Chief Electoral Officer and then declare their expenses related to the design and dissemination of partisan advertising during the regulated period. This framework would make it possible to verify whether these expenses comply with the principles of the Election Act with regard to financing. - Prohibit advertising and government announcements during the pre-election period.
At this time, certain government guidelines limit government communications in the lead-up to elections. A ban set by law would clarify the rules and ensure greater fairness between political parties from one election to the next.
Complementary action by Élections Québec: continuing to work with our partners on the use of parliamentary and government resources.