Campaign and Advertising Financial Guidelines

Contributions

Campaign contributions are any money, goods or services that are given to you for use in your campaign, including money and goods that you contribute to yourself.

You can only accept contributions from individuals who are normally a resident in Ontario. Corporations and trade unions are not permitted to make contributions to candidates.

You can only accept contributions during your campaign period, which begins on the day you file your nomination paper and ends December 31, 2026.

Campaign Bank Account

• You must open a bank account before raising or spending any money
• Your campaign bank account must be used exclusively for campaign purposes
• Banks may require you to provide a copy of your Nomination Paper (following filing) and the Letter to Banks, as individual in the nomination package, to open a campaign bank account

Candidate's Guide

Your campaign begins on the day you filed your nomination and ends on December 31, 2026. If you withdrew your nomination, your campaign ends on the date you filed your withdrawal. Please note, candidates who withdraw are still required to file financials.

If your campaign has a deficit, you can extend your campaign period to do some additional fundraising. To extend your campaign, you must file a Notice of Extension of Campaign Period – Form 6 with the City Clerk on or before December 31, 2026. Your campaign will be extended until Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

Candidates who extend their campaign will be required to file two financial statements:

1. An initial financial statement (due by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30, 2027).
2. A supplementary financial statement (due by 2 p.m. on Friday, September 24, 2027).

You are required to file a Financial Statement – Form 4 for each campaign, even if you did not spend any money and even if you withdrew your nomination.

• A regular campaign will show all financial activity from the day the Nomination Paper - Form 1 was filed until the end of the campaign period (December 31, 2026).
• Withdrawn campaigns will show all financial activity from the day the Nomination Paper - Form 1 was filed until the day the withdrawal was filed.

Correcting an Error on a Financial Statement

Candidates who submit a financial statement and later identify an error may withdraw their original statement and submit a new one by 2 p.m. on March 30, 2027.

If the withdrawn financial statement was accompanied by an auditor’s report, the corrected financial statement must be accompanied by a new/updated auditor’s report.

If the corrected financial statement identifies an additional surplus amount, the difference must be paid to the City Clerk at the time the corrected financial statement is filed. If the surplus amount is lower, the City Clerk will remit any difference owing with interest.

2026

Thursday, December 31, 2026

• End of the initial campaign period.
• Last day to file a Notice of Extension - Form 6  in order to continue raising money to erase a deficit.

2027

Tuesday, March 30, 2027 at 2 p.m.

• Deadline for candidates to file their initial financial statement.

Thursday, April 29, 2027 at 2 p.m.

• Last day of the financial filing grace period for candidates to file their financial statement if they pay $500 late filing fee.

Wednesday, June 30, 2027

• End of the supplementary campaign period.

Friday, September 24, 2027 at 2 p.m.

• Deadline for candidates to file the supplementary financial statement (applies only to those who extended their campaign period).

Monday, October 25, 2027 at 2 p.m.

• Last day of the supplementary financial filing grace period for candidates to file their financial statement if they pay $500 late filing fee.

You must have your financial statement audited by a licensed auditor under the Public Accounting Act, 2004 and include the auditor’s report when you submit your financial statement if:

• You raised or spent more than $10,000; or
• You are participating in the Contribution Rebate Program regardless of the amount you raised or spent.

If your campaign ends with a surplus, you can refund the value of contributions that you and your spouse made from the surplus. You are not permitted to refund eligible contributions made by anyone other than you or your spouse.

If a surplus still remains once you have refunded your contributions, the surplus must be paid to the City Clerk when you file your financial statement. You (or your agent) must file your financial statement in-person at our City Hall office.

If an eligible voter believes a candidate has broken election finance rules, they may apply for a compliance audit of their campaign finances. The application must set out the reasons why they believe the candidate contravened the rules.

An application for a compliance audit must be submitted to the City Clerk within 90 days of the deadline to file a financial statement.

A compliance audit committee will decide whether to grant or reject the application. The committee’s decision can be appealed to the Superior Court of Justice within 15 days of the decision.

A joint Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) has been established by the Region of Waterloo, Cities of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo and Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. For more information visit: Compliance Audit Committee | Region of Waterloo

Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 , a candidate will automatically receive penalties if:

• They fail to file a financial statement by the end of the 30-day grace period or fail to apply for an extension by the filing deadline.
• Their financial statement shows they exceeded the spending limit.
• They fail to turn over any surplus to the clerk when they file financial statements.

Penalties include ineligibility to run for office or fill a vacancy until after the 2030 election and, if elected, forfeiture of office.