Contributions
Bill 54: Election Statutes Amendment Act impacts all provincial electoral legislation. This page is being updated to reflect the new legislation, and as such the information below may be outdated.
The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA), Citizen Initiative Act, and Recall Act set limits on political donations (“contributions”) and hold donors and political participants responsible for following contribution rules.
Political participants include registered parties, constituency associations, prospective candidate associations, candidates, leadership contestants, citizen initiative proponents (applicants), recall petition authorized participants (applicants), recall vote authorized participants (applicants and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)), and third-party advertisers.
Every political participant must appoint a chief financial officer (CFO). The CFO is responsible for accepting, recording, reporting, and receipting contributions.
What are Contributions?
The definition of contribution applies to registered political parties, constituency associations, prospective candidate associations, candidates, leadership contestants, recall authorized participants, and citizen initiative proponents:
A contribution is any money, real property, goods, or services, given to or for the benefit of a political participant, without receiving any benefit back from the participant.
Any contribution $50.00 or less is not required to be classified as a contribution, unless the donor specifically requests it. If requested, the chief financial officer (CFO) for the political participant must classify and report the amount as a contribution and issue an official contribution receipt to the donor.
The definition of advertising contribution applies to third party advertisers (TPAs):
An advertising contribution is any money, real property, goods or services, given to or for the benefit of a TPA for the purpose of third party advertising, without receiving any benefit back from the TPA, whether the advertising contribution is made before or after the TPA registers with Elections Alberta.
Any contribution $50.00 or less is not required to be classified as a contribution, unless the donor specifically requests it. If requested, the chief financial officer (CFO) for the TPA must classify and report the amount as a contribution and issue an official contribution receipt to the donor.
Who Can Contribute, When and How Much?
The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA), Citizen Initiative Act, and Recall Act limit who can contribute to political participants, when, and how much. The table below summarizes the contribution limits in effect as of July 4, 2025, as well as contributions that can be claimed for income tax credits.
Contribution limits may change periodically due to inflation adjustments applied according to legislation, or as a consequence of legislative amendments passed/proclaimed in the Legislative Assembly.
| Political Participant Type | Who Can Contribute? | When? | Contribution Limit (per yr) | Eligible for Tax Credit? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Any combination of:
|
|
Anytime | $5,000 | Yes except contributions to Prospective Candidate Associations |
| Any combination of Leadership Contestants |
|
Anytime | $5,000 | Yes |
| Any combination of Senate Candidates |
|
During a campaign period for an Alberta senate election | $5,000 | Yes |
| Initiative Petition Proponent |
|
During an initiative petition period | $4,600 | No |
| Any combination of Recall Petition Authorized Participants (the applicant and the MLA) | Individuals ordinarily resident in the electoral division that is the subject of a recall petition | During a recall petition canvassing period | $4,600 | No |
| Any combination of Recall Vote Authorized Participants (the applicant and the MLA) | Individuals ordinarily resident in the electoral division that is the subject of a recall petition | During a recall vote period | $4,600 | No |
| Any combination of Political Third Party Advertisers and Election Third Party Advertisers | Political TPAs:
Election TPAs:
|
Anytime | $5,000 | No |
| Any combination of Senate Third Party Advertisers |
|
During an Alberta senate election advertising period | $5,000 | No |
| Any combination of Referendum Third Party Advertisers |
|
During a referendum election advertising period | $5,000 | No |
| Initiative Petition Third Party Advertiser |
|
During an initiative petition period | No limit | No |
| Recall Third Party Advertiser |
|
During a recall advertising period | No limit | No |
*Corporations prohibited from making contributions:
1(1)(l)(i) a Provincial corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act, and includes a management body within the meaning of the Alberta Housing Act and a provincial health agency, a regional health authority and a subsidiary health corporation under the Provincial Health Agencies Act,
(ii) a municipality,
(iii) a Metis settlement,
(iv) a board of a school division under the Education Act,
(v) a public post-secondary institution under the Post-secondary Learning Act,
(vi) repealed 2012 c5 s58,
(vi.1) a corporation associated with a corporation referred to in subclauses (i) to (v) as determined under subsections (2.1) to (2.3),
(vi.2) a corporation that does not carry on business in Alberta,
(vi.3) a registered charity,
(vi.4) a publicly funded corporation as determined by the regulations, or
(vii) any corporation, or corporation within a class of corporation, designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as a prohibited corporation.
Previous Limits
Unlawful Contributions
The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act , Citizen Initiative Act, and Recall Act require contributors to know which political participants they can make contributions to, and to keep track of their contributions throughout the year. Political participants and their chief financial officers are also responsible for knowing who they can accept contributions from and must inform contributors about the rules.
Unlawful (prohibited) contributions can include, but are not limited to, contributions from prohibited persons or entities, contributions exceeding the limit, anonymous contributions over $50, and contributions outside the allowable period a given political participant could accept the contribution. Unlawful contributions may be penalized under the EFCDA, the Citizen Initiative Act, or the Recall Act.
Are Contributions Made Public?
Contributions are published on Elections Alberta’s Financial Reporting website based on the information contained in the contribution reports submitted by political participants. When the contribution reports are published, we include the names and amounts for those who contributed over $250 for the reporting period of the given political participant.
Depending on the political participant type, it can take up to a year before contribution reports are due to be filed with Elections Alberta. We publish as-submitted contribution reports shortly after the submission deadlines.
Can Contributions be Claimed for Tax Credits?
Section 24 of the Alberta Personal Income Tax Act determines the contributions that can be claimed for income tax credits by contributors, as shown in the table below. When a political participant issues an official contribution receipt as required by Elections Alberta, the official receipt will indicate if the contribution(s) is eligible or not to be claimed for tax credits.
| Contributions eligible for tax credits | Contributions not eligible for tax credits |
|---|---|
|
|
The Alberta Personal Income Tax Act sets the calculations for income tax credits. Based on the calculation model shown in the table below, the maximum tax credit of $1,000 is reached when the contributor’s total contributions reach $2,300 in the year. Tax credits must be claimed for the tax year in which the contributions are made. Any contributions made by the contributor over and above $2,300 in the year cannot be carried forward to be claimed for tax credits in a subsequent year.
| Amount Contributed | Available Tax Credit | Maximum Credit | Cumulative Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $200 | 75% | $150 | $150 |
| Next $900 ($201 to $1,100) | 50% | $450 | $600 |
| Next $1,200 ($1,101 to $2,300) | 33.3% | $400 | $1,000 |
| Over $2,300 | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
How are Contributions Reported and Receipts Issued?
Every political participant’s CFO is responsible for reporting the following contribution details to Elections Alberta for each contribution received:
- Full contributor name
- Full contributor address
- Amount of the contribution
- Date the contribution was received
- Contribution type
- Money (cash, cheque, credit card, online payment), or
- Valued (in-kind goods, services, or the use of real property)
- Contributor type
- Individual,
- Corporation,
- Trade union, or
- Employee organization
The CFO is responsible for issuing official contribution receipts to contributors, based on the information above.
CFOs are required to use Elections Alberta’s Online Financial System (OFS) to report contributions and issue official contribution receipts to contributors. OFS allows the CFO to deliver a contribution receipt by email directly from the system if the CFO has collected an email address from the contributor. Alternatively, the CFO can print the receipt directly from the system and mail it to the contributor. Should OFS be unavailable for reporting or receipting contributions for any reason, Elections Alberta will provide an alternative, manual method to the CFO.
Contributors who have questions about their contribution receipt, including when they will receive their receipt, should direct their questions to the political participant(s) they contributed to.