Election Finance
By law, candidates and third party advertisers have to follow certain rules in how they spend and fundraise for their election campaign, including:
- Opening a dedicated bank account for all campaign activity;
- Keeping detailed and accurate records of everything they spend and fundraise;
- Staying within their office’s spending limits;
- Only accepting donations from people who are legally allowed to donate to them;
- Not accepting more than someone is legally allowed to give them; and,
- Filing a complete and accurate campaign financial statement after the election with Elections Markham.
Candidates are responsible for reminding their contributors that a person can only donate up to $5,000 total to candidates running for Markham City Council or the same school board.
- Campaign period
By law, candidates and third party advertisers can only fundraise and incur expenses during the official campaign period for an upcoming municipal or school board election. Their campaign period begins on the day they register and ends on:
- For a regular election, December 31 of the election year
- For a by-election, 45 days after final voting day
If a candidate or third party advertiser has a deficit by the end of their campaign period, they can file a form with Elections Markham requesting a 6-month extension. Extensions have to be requested before the standard campaign period ends.
Once a campaign ends, a candidate or third party advertiser should close their campaign bank account and prepare their campaign financial statement.
- Donation limits
Candidates can only accept personal donations from individual Ontario residents. Corporations, trade unions, businesses, groups and non-Ontario residents can't donate to Ontario municipal or school board election candidates.
Candidates and third party advertisers can’t accept donations that are:
- From an ineligible or anonymous source
- More than $1,200 to them, or would result in the donor giving more than $5,000 total to candidates running for City Council or the same school board
- From funds that don’t belong to whoever gave them
- Made outside their campaign period
- Made in cash and are greater than $25
If a candidate or third party advertiser accepts a donation that they later learn isn’t allowed, they have to return it. If they don’t know where the donation came from or how to return it, they have to give it to Elections Markham when they file their post-election campaign financial statement.
- Campaign financial statements
Every candidate and third party advertiser has to file a post-election financial statement with Elections Markham outlining what they spent and received toward their campaign (even if they withdrew their registration and had no financial activity). This should reflect all of their financial activity from the day they registered up to the end of the campaign period.
Candidates and third party advertisers who have no financial activity or withdraw their registration are still required to file a financial statement.
If a candidate or third party advertiser requests an extension to the standard campaign period in order to resolve a financial deficit, they are required to file two financial statements: one reflecting spending and fundraising for the initial period, and a second one updated to reflect any additional activity during the extension period.
Donations over $100
Candidates and third party advertisers are legally required to disclose the name and address of every person who donates more than $100 (i.e., $100.01+) to their campaign in their post-election financial statement.
Public records
Campaign financial statements are public records and posted online for a fixed period established by law, during which a compliance audit may be requested by members of the public on reasonable grounds. After the compliance audit period has passed, financial statements will remain viewable in person at the Markham City Clerk’s Office for the next two regular municipal election cycles.
Late submissions
Candidates and third party advertisers who don’t file their campaign financial statement by the deadline can still file it statement within 30 days, but must a $500 late filing fee.
If a candidate or third party advertiser doesn't file a campaign financial statement by the end of the 30-day late period (and hasn't applied to Ontario's Superior Court of Justice for an extension, automatic penalties apply, including:
- Removal from their office (if they were elected); and,
- Disqualification from running for any Ontario municipal council or district school board office until after the next regularly scheduled election has taken place.
- Compliance audit process
A Markham voter who believes on reasonable grounds that a Markham City Council candidate or a third party advertiser has broken a campaign finance rule can request an audit of the campaign’s financial records through the City's election finance compliance audit committee. Compliance audit requests are accepted by writing application and must outline reasons and evidence for why the requester believes the law was broken.
After the statutory filing deadline for campaign financial statements, Elections Markham reviews the individual donations disclosed by each candidate and third party advertiser in the election. If it appears that someone has donated more to a Markham City Council candidate, group of Markham City Council candidates, or third party advertiser than the law allows, this is reported to the City's election finance compliance audit committee.
The committee will review each case of a possible campaign finance infraction and decide whether to investigate and take legal action against the candidate, third party advertiser, and/or donor.
View Committee's Rules of Procedure
Upcoming compliance audit committee meetings
There are no upcoming compliance audit committee meetings.
Past compliance audit committee meetings
Meeting Date Agenda Minutes / Decisions June 7, 2023 (6 PM) Agenda Minutes June 15, 2023 (6 PM) Agenda Minutes - Important dates for 2026 Markham Municipal Election
Coming soon.