Candidates
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 This page is being updated to reflect the new legislation, and as such the information below may be outdated.
A candidate is a person seeking to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. A candidate can be endorsed by a registered party or declare their candidacy as an independent. Candidates can choose to run in any electoral division in the province.
This section provides resources and links for registered candidates, including information on how to register as a candidate and the financial rules that apply to candidates and their chief financial officers.
A candidate must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older on Election Day, and ordinarily resident in Alberta for the 6 months preceding Election Day. Learn more about the qualifications required to run as a candidate.
The first step to running as a candidate in an election, is registering as a candidate with Elections Alberta, through one of the ways listed below:
- The candidate’s registered party must notify Elections Alberta of its endorsement of the candidate by submitting a Party Endorsement of a Candidate form, or
- Once the campaign period for an election has begun, a person declaring their candidacy as an independent must submit a Registration of a Candidate form to Elections Alberta and be approved for registration.
A candidate must be registered before the candidate and their chief financial officer can raise or spend funds for their campaign or be nominated by electors in the candidate’s electoral division to appear on the election ballot.
Learn more about the registration and nomination process.
Contributions
Through their chief financial officer, a registered candidate can accept contributions only during the campaign period for an election. The campaign period starts on the day a Writ of Election is issued and ends two months after Election Day.
Contributions can only be accepted from the following persons or entities:
- Persons ordinarily resident in Alberta,
- Corporations carrying on business in Alberta and are not prohibited corporations, and
- Alberta trade unions and employee organizations.
Contributions are any money or in-kind donations of real property, goods, or services.
The maximum contribution a candidate’s chief financial officer can accept from an eligible contributor is $5,000 during the candidate’s campaign period, less any other contributions the contributor may make in the same year to registered parties, registered constituency associations, registered prospective candidate associations, and other registered candidates. The limit also applies to a candidate’s self-funding of campaign expenses.
The candidate’s chief financial officer is responsible for reporting contributions to Elections Alberta and issuing official contribution receipts to contributors. Contributors can claim non-refundable personal income tax credits on their tax return for their contributions to registered candidates.
Get more information on contributions.
Fundraising Functions
A registered candidate or any person acting on the candidate’s behalf can hold events and activities to raise funds during the candidate’s campaign period only.
Examples of fundraising events include luncheons, meet & greet events, rallies, golf tournaments, and auctions. Contribution rules limit who can pay to attend events and who can donate/bid for auctions.
All fundraising revenues and expenses must be reported on the candidate’s campaign return.
Get more information on fundraising functions.
Expenses
A registered candidate can spend funds or accept non-monetary contributions during the candidate’s campaign period only. The campaign period starts on the day a Writ of Election is issued and ends two months after Election Day.
Registered candidates are subject to spending limits for election expenses. Election expenses are any real property, goods, or services used, distributed, or consumed during an election period, for the registered candidate’s promotion or opposing others. The election period begins on the day a Writ of Election is issued and extends to the end of voting on Election Day.
A registered candidate’s election expenses cannot exceed $75,000. For registered party candidates, the expense limit includes any election expenses incurred on behalf of the candidate by any of the following:
- Registered party of the candidate,
- Registered constituency association of the candidate and other constituency associations,
- Registered prospective candidate association of the candidate.
The expenses listed below are exempt from expense limit:
- Candidate’s travel expenses related to the election including meals and accommodation,
- Candidate’s childcare expenses,
- Candidate’s care for a person with a physical or mental incapacity for whom the candidate normally provides such care,
- For a candidate who has a disability, additional expenses related to the disability,
- Audit and financial fees necessary for the candidate’s campaign compliance with the EFCDA, and
- Reasonable incidental expenses incurred by or on behalf of volunteers.
Get more information on expenses.
Filing Deadlines
Through their chief financial officer, registered candidates must disclose the details of their financial activities to Elections Alberta by submitting campaign financial statements due within four months after Election Day. The reports are required regardless of the level of financial activity or the candidate’s withdrawal.
An automatic late filing fee of $500 applies for missing a filing deadline.
Get more information on filing deadlines.
Financial Reporting and Online Financial System
The Financial Reporting website has registration and financial information for all registered candidates.
The chief financial officers for registered candidates are granted access to Elections Alberta’s secure Online Financial System (OFS) to report contributions, issue official contribution receipts to contributors, and submit the candidate’s campaign financial return.
Contact finance@elections.ab.ca with any questions.