A candidate is a person seeking election in a general local election or by-election. All candidates in local elections must abide by the campaign financing and election advertising rules under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, which include campaign period expense limits, contribution limits, election advertising rules and disclosure rules.
Expense limits vary by jurisdiction and office sought and are available on our Candidate Expense Limits page.
Candidates can only accept campaign contributions from someone who is a resident of B.C. and either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Both endorsed and unendorsed candidates have contribution limits that are outlined on our Making a Campaign Contribution page. All campaign contributions for the 2022 General Local Election must be reported, regardless of when the contribution is received. This includes contributions received outside of the election year.
All financial transactions in relation to the election campaign must go through a separate campaign account. This letter explains the financial requirements for candidates and can be provided to a savings institution if needed.
More information about campaign financing and election advertising rules is available on our local elections Forms and Guides pages. If you have questions, contact us at electoral.finance@elections.bc.ca or 1-800-661-8683, or watch the virtual information session video below.
Candidates’ campaign financing disclosure statements are published and publicly available through our Financial Reports and Political Contributions system.
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-8683
TTY: 1-888-456-5448
electionsbc@elections.bc.ca
Toll-Free Fax: 1-866-466-0665s
