Expense Limits

The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA), Citizen Initiative Act and Recall Act all apply limits on the amount that registered political participants can spend during an election period, contest period or petition period. Penalties apply for over-spending or attempting to evade spending limits.

Limits per political participant are summarized below.

Terms used:

Writ Day is the date a Writ of Election is issued by the Chief Electoral Officer
Date of Official Call is the start date of a contest held by a political party
Order Issue Date is the date an Order is issued by the Lieutenant Governor

Participant	Election Expense Limit / Petition Expense Limit / Recall Vote Period Expense Limit	Limit Applies To
Political Party	$3,208,127 for the 2023 General Election $1.16 times the total number of electors in the Register of Electors on the 1st day of the month, three months before election day	General Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$24,400 per electoral division	By-Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$106,080 per Senate candidate	Senate Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Constituency Association	N/A – but must report election expenses incurred on behalf of a candidate or party, which count toward the party’s or candidate’s expense limit	N/A
Candidate	$53,100	Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate Candidate	$530,400	Senate Election Period
Nomination Contestant	$13,275	Nomination Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Selection Date
Leadership Contestant	N/A – no expense limit	Leadership Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Vote Date
Initiative Petition Proponent (applicant)	$500,000	Initiative petition period
Recall Petition Authorized Participant (applicant or MLA named in petition)	$23,000	Recall petition canvassing period
Recall Vote Authorized Participant (applicant or MLA named in petition)	$23,000	Recall vote period
Political TPA	N/A – cannot advertise during an election	Political Advertising Period – N/A
Election TPA	General Election Limit $159,200 January 1st to the day before Writ Day plus $159,200 from Writ Day to Election Day	Election Advertising Period – January 1st of the year the General Election is held to the day before Writ Day (“Pre-Writ Advertising Period”) plus Writ Day to Election Day (“Election Advertising Period”)
Election TPA	By-Election Limit $3,200 per electoral division	Election Advertising Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate TPA	$31,900	Senate election held in conjunction with a municipal election – Senate election advertising period starts on May 1^st and ends on Election Day.
Senate TPA	$31,900	Senate election held in conjunction with a provincial election, or on a date fixed by an order in council – Senate election advertising period commences at the beginning of the campaign period for that election and ends on Election Day.
Referendum TPA	$530,400	Referendum Advertising Period – Order Issue date to Election Day
Initiative Petition TPA	$500,000	Initiative petition period
Recall TPA	$3,000	Recall petition advertising period
Recall TPA	$3,000	Recall petition vote period

Previous Limits

January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2022

Terms used:

Writ Day is the date a Writ of Election is issued by the Chief Electoral Officer
Date of Official Call is the start date of a contest held by a political party
Order Issue Date is the date an Order is issued by the Lieutenant Governor

Participant	Election Expense Limit	Limit Applies To
Political Party	$2,121,368	General Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$24,396 per electoral division	By-Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$106,068 per Senate candidate	Senate Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Constituency Association	N/A – but must report election expenses incurred on behalf of a candidate or party, which count toward the party’s or candidate’s expense limit	N/A
Candidate	$53,034	Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate Candidate	$530,342	Senate Election Period – June 23, 2021 (Writ Day) to October 18, 2021 (Election Day)
Nomination Contestant	$10,607	Nomination Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Selection Date
Leadership Contestant	N/A – no expense limit	Leadership Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Vote Date
Political TPA	N/A – cannot advertise during an election	Political Advertising Period – N/A
Election TPA	General Election Limit $159,103 from December 1st to the day before Writ Day plus $159,103 from Writ Day to Election Day	Election Advertising Period – December 1 to the day before Writ Day (“Pre-Writ Period”) plus Writ Day to Election Day (“Election Period”)
Election TPA	By-Election Limit $3,182 per electoral division	Election Advertising Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate TPA	$31,821	Senate election held in conjunction with a municipal election – Senate election advertising period starts on May 1^st and ends on Election Day.
Senate TPA	$31,821	Senate election held in conjunction with a provincial election, or on a date fixed by an order in council – Senate election advertising period commences at the beginning of the campaign period for that election and ends on Election Day.
Referendum TPA	$530,342	Referendum Advertising Period – Order Issue date to Election Day

Prior to 2020

Terms used:

Writ Day is the date a Writ of Election is issued by the Chief Electoral Officer
Date of Official Call is the start date of a contest held by a political party
Order Issue Date is the date an Order is issued by the Lieutenant Governor

Participant	Election Expense Limit	Limit Applies To
Political Party	$2,000,000	General Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$23,000 per electoral division	By-Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
	$100,000 per senatorial candidate	Senate Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Constituency Association	N/A – but must report election expenses incurred on behalf of a candidate or party, which count toward the party’s or candidate’s expense limit	N/A
Candidate	$50,000	Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate Candidate	$500,000	Senate Election Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Nomination Contestant	$10,000	Nomination Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Selection Date
Leadership Contestant	N/A – no expense limit	Leadership Contest Period – Date of Official Call to Vote Date
Political TPA	N/A – cannot advertise during an election	Political Advertising Period – N/A
Election TPA	*General Election Limit* – $150,000 from December 1st to the day before writ‑day plus $150,000 from writ‑day to election day	Election Advertising Period – December 1 to the day before Writ Day (“Pre-Writ Period”) plus Election Advertising Period – Writ Day to Election Day (“Election Period”)
Election TPA	By-Election – $3,000 per electoral division	Election Advertising Period – Writ Day to Election Day
Senate TPA	$30,000	Senate Election Advertising Period – Senate Election held alongside General Election under Local Authorities Election Act, May 1 – Election Day
Referendum TPA	$500,000	Referendum Advertising Period – Referendum held alongside General Election under Election Act, or as a stand-alone referendum – Order Issue date to Election Day – or – Referendum held alongside General Election under Local Authorities Election Act – Order Issue Date to Election Day