Political Parties Face New Transparency Rules

Summary#

This bill changes the Canada Elections Act to increase transparency about who runs for office and how parties choose candidates. It requires larger registered parties to post public information on their rules and efforts to improve diversity among candidates, including targets for women. It also directs the Chief Electoral Officer to collect voluntary, confidential demographic data from candidates and publish anonymized reports after elections. The new data-collection section starts 2 years after Royal Assent; the party transparency rules take effect on Royal Assent.

• Larger parties must post candidate selection rules, diversity programs, and progress, and update this yearly (s. 446.2(1), (3)).
• Parties must state targets and rules for nominating women and report progress (s. 446.2(2)).
• If a party has no plan or rules, it must explain why and give a timeline, if any (s. 446.3).
• Parties must post a contact person for concerns (s. 446.4).
• Elections Canada must survey candidates, nomination contestants, and leadership contestants and publish anonymized demographic reports; participation is voluntary (ss. 535.1, 535.11).
• Missing these obligations can trigger the existing non‑voluntary deregistration process for parties (amended s. 415(1)).

What it means for you#

• Households (voters)

  • You will be able to see each larger party’s candidate selection rules, diversity policies, and progress on its website. This begins on Royal Assent and updates yearly (s. 446.2(1), (3)).
  • You will see each party’s targets and rules for nominating women, including in open seats and close (“within 10%”) seats, plus progress toward targets (s. 446.2(2)).
  • You will be able to contact a named person at each party about these obligations (s. 446.4).
  • After each general election, you will have access to anonymized demographic data on candidates and nomination contestants within 90 days; similar reports will come after by‑elections and leadership contests. This starts 2 years after Royal Assent (ss. 535.11(1)–(2); coming-into-force).

• Aspiring candidates, nomination contestants, and leadership contestants

  • You may receive a voluntary self‑identification questionnaire from Elections Canada. Your responses are confidential and used only for anonymized reports (ss. 535.1(1), (4)–(5); 535.11(3)).
  • The questionnaire will include variables relevant to “designated groups” under the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities (s. 2(1) definition; Employment Equity Act s.3; s. 535.1(3)).
  • Your party may adopt or publish rules that affect how nominations are run, including use of formal search committees (s. 446.2(1)(a), (d)).

• Political parties and electoral district associations

  • If your candidates won at least 2% of valid votes nationwide, or 5% in the ridings you contested, you must post and annually update required information on your website (Subdivision C “Application”; s. 446.2(1)–(3)).
  • You must post: candidate selection rules; diversity programs and how they address designated groups; implementation measures; methods to assess effectiveness; and cumulative progress (s. 446.2(1)(a)–(f)).
  • You must post a plan with targets for nominating women by a stated date; rules for women’s nominations in open seats and close seats; and cumulative progress (s. 446.2(2)(a)–(d)).
  • If you have no plan or rules, you must post reasons and any timeline to adopt them (s. 446.3).
  • You must name a contact person for concerns (s. 446.4).
  • Failure to meet these obligations can start the non‑voluntary deregistration process under existing law (amended s. 415(1)).

• Elections Canada (Chief Electoral Officer)

  • You must design a questionnaire that allows analysis by multiple variables (disaggregated, meaning broken down by category) and intersections (s. 535.1(2)).
  • You must distribute it to candidates, nomination contestants, and leadership contestants; collect responses; and publish anonymized reports on a set timeline after elections (ss. 535.1(1); 535.11(1)–(3)).
  • You must submit reports to the Speaker of the House of Commons for tabling without delay (amended s. 536).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• No fiscal note or official cost estimate identified. Data unavailable.
• The bill contains no appropriations or new fees. It creates new reporting duties for Elections Canada and compliance duties for qualifying parties (ss. 446.2–446.4; 535.1; 535.11).
• Elections Canada must design, administer, and report on a new questionnaire program; costs are not stated. Data unavailable.
• Parties must prepare and post annual disclosures; costs are not stated. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Improves transparency in how parties recruit and select candidates by requiring public posting of rules, policies, and progress (s. 446.2(1)(a)–(f)).
• Encourages parties to set clear, time‑bound targets for women candidates and to explain rules in open and close seats, while leaving targets to each party (not a quota) (s. 446.2(2)(a)–(d)).
• Produces better evidence about representation of designated groups among candidates and contestants, including intersectional analysis, to inform public debate (ss. 535.1(2)–(3); 535.11).
• Protects privacy: responses are voluntary, confidential, and reported only in anonymized form (ss. 535.1(4)–(5); 535.11(3)).
• Limits burden to parties with meaningful voter support (at least 2% nationwide or 5% in contested ridings) (Subdivision C “Application”).
• Ensures timely public reporting after elections (within 90 days for general elections) and parliamentary visibility through tabling in the House (s. 535.11(1); amended s. 536).

Opponents' View#

• Creates compliance work for parties to draft, maintain, and annually update web content; missing updates could trigger the non‑voluntary deregistration process, which poses a significant risk if not remedied (s. 446.2(3); amended s. 415(1)).
• Grants broad discretion to collect “any demographic information” the Chief Electoral Officer considers appropriate, which could expand data collection over time beyond core needs (s. 535.1(2)).
• Voluntary responses may lead to incomplete or biased datasets, limiting the accuracy of published reports (s. 535.1(4)).
• Publishing targets and progress for women could subject parties to reputational pressure or politicize internal nomination processes; this relies on assumptions about public response, not on the bill text.
• The bill includes no new funding; Elections Canada may need to reallocate resources to build and run the survey and reporting system. This is an implementation risk; amounts are not stated in the bill. Data unavailable.
• The 2‑year delay for the data‑collection section slows delivery of new information to the public, reducing near‑term impact (coming-into-force).