Money in Politics Campaign

Advocating for stronger and more democratic political donation, loan, finance and spending laws

Money to the Ref? We don’t allow that in hockey or other sports – but in politics it’s legal!

Politicians are supposed to be the referees who decide what is in the public interest – so why do we allow wealthy lobbyists and voters buy them off with thousands of dollars in donations and loans each year, and with secret fundraising favours?

And why do we allow big businesses, lobby groups and wealthy voters to spend secret, unlimited amounts of money between elections on advertising and other activities aimed at unduly influencing politicians’ decisions and actions. And why do we allow big businesses (which are controlled by just a few wealthy executives) and wealthy voters to spend as much during elections as citizen groups that are supported by tens of thousands of voters?

Please send your letter now using the form on this page, and please help spread the word by Liking and Tweeting this page.

(See below for more details about the loopholes and flaws in Canada’s political finance laws)

Key Links

Stop Big Money Court Case Fund
Infographic webpage on Key Facts about Big Money and How to Stop It
List of sham political donation systems across Canada
Summary of Loopholes in Canada’s “Third Party” Lobby Group Spending Rules
Summary of Third Party Advertising Spending Limits Court Case (archive website)
Please download and post on social media or print and post everywhere the I’m Voting for Good Government sign
Call on the politicians that represent you to Make the Democratic Good Government Pledge

Campaign News

Liberals vote against changes to Bill C-25 to stop secret, undemocratic influence of wealthy interests, lobbyists and foreigners in federal elections and policy-making processes

June 4, 2026 6:36AM

Many key changes needed to Bill C-25 to stop undemocratic influence of wealthy interests, disinformation and foreigners

May 26, 2026 5:37AM

Many changes needed to make B.C. elections and political system actually democratic, honest, ethical, open and fair

July 17, 2025 7:45AM

Read all campaign news

Money in Politics Campaign 1993-2011 archive (archive website)

The Opportunity

Surveys show that a large majority of Canadians believe governments are driven by wealthy interest groups, especially big businesses, and that governments regularly act unethically to help their big business executive friends and are not doing enough to stop corruption. Surveys also show that a large majority of Canadians support placing strict limits on the influence of wealthy interests in politics.

Many scandals in Canadian politics have made many people realize how loophole-filled and weak the restriction of money in politics is in Canada.

Italian police have said that Ontario has a mafia corruption problem in the construction industry even worse than in Quebec.

As a result, the pressure is increasing on all politicians, and all governments, to clean up their political finance systems.

Background

From 1998 to 2016, Democracy Watch organized and coordinated a national coalition of 50 citizen groups, and activated voters across Canada, to win key money in politics reforms – more detailed disclosure of political donations, a ban on political donations by businesses, unions and other organization, and limits on individual donations and on spending by third-party lobby groups, at the federal level and in six provinces and two territories (Quebec enacted a ban and limits in the late 1970s, and Manitoba in 2001, and now only Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador allow unlimited donations from businesses, unions, organizations and individuals and unlimited spending by lobby groups).

However, the annual donation limits that have been set at the federal level and in most provinces and territories much higher than what most voters can afford to donate as they range from $1,200 up to more than $5,000. Only Quebec has a democratic donation limit of $100 annually. Democracy Watch’s research shows that most donors only donate $75 a year – click here to see details.

The high donation limits also favour wealthy parties and candidates supported by wealthy donors, and the high limits also facilitate funnelling of donations (click here to see details). Combined with the facts that individuals (including lobbyists) are allowed to secretly fundraise for political parties and election candidates, and (other than in Ontario) donations are only disclosed once a year, and after elections, the system essentially legalizes bribery – click here to see details.

In addition, banks and other financial institutions are allowed to loan an unlimited amount of money to political parties and election candidates, which allows them to use loans as a means of influence.

The third-party lobby group (and individual) spending limits that have been set at the federal level and in most provinces and territories all allow for secret, undemocratic, unethical and undue influence by wealthy interests – click here for details. There are no registration or disclosure requirements, or spending limits, for third parties trying to influence nomination contests or political party leadership contests. Third parties are also allowed to spend their “own funds” during election campaigns, which hides the donors who gave them those funds, and are not required to disclose any of their donors until after voting day.

The same spending limit applies for every type of third party, whether the third party is an individual, a citizen group supported by tens of thousands of voters, or an individual voter or private corporation or a publicly traded business that is directed only by a few voters, which gives wealthy voters and businesses undue influence.

Third-party registration requirements and spending limits also only apply during short (4 to 6 week) federal, provincial and territorial election campaign periods or just before campaigns begin, and don’t apply to all influence activities. The requirements and limits don’t apply between elections when lobby groups try to influence policy-making processes. The requirements and limits also usually don’t apply at all to municipal elections or policy-making processes.

Democracy Watch continues to lead the movement across Canada for key reforms to close these loopholes and correct these flaws to stop the unethical, undemocratic influence of big money in Canadian politics.

Please send your letter now calling for key changes to Stop Big Money in Politics using the form on this page, and please help spread the word by Liking and Tweeting this page.

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Money to the Ref? We don’t allow that in hockey or other sports – but in politics it’s legal! Send your letter calling for changes to end secret, unlimited donations and loans to Canadian political parties and politicians, and secret, unlimited spending by third party interest groups
(See list of politicians below)

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Hello,

Surveys show that a large majority of Canadians believe governments are driven by wealthy interest groups, especially corporate donors, and that governments regularly act unethically to help their business friends and are not doing enough to stop corruption. Surveys also show that a large majority of Canadians support placing strict limits on the influence of wealthy interests in politics.

I am joining this call for changes to end secret, unlimited donations and loans to political parties and politicians across Canada, and for other key changes to make political finance systems across Canada fully democratic.

We don’t allow hockey players to give donations to referees, so why is this legal in politics? Politicians are the referees who decide what is in the public interest, so it makes no sense at all to allow wealthy interests to buy influence with large donations and gifts to candidates and political parties (including secret donations).

While the passage of federal Bill C-24 in 2004 and Bill C-2 in 2006 helped rein in this influence, several flaws and loopholes in the federal political donations and campaign spending law remain, and must be corrected and closed if the law is to be effective. These loopholes also exist in every province and territory.

Many recent scandals in Canadian politics, in Alberta, in Quebec, and with a federal Cabinet minister for donations and overspending, and with suspicious donations to a federal Conservative riding association in Quebec, have made people realize how loophole-filled and weak the restriction of money in politics is in Canada. As well, Italian police have said that Ontario has a mafia corruption problem in the construction industry even worse than in Quebec.

The nation-wide Money in Politics Coalition made up of 50 citizen groups with a combined total membership of more than 3 million Canadians supports these key changes.

Specifically:

if not already banned, donations from corporations, unions and other organizations must be banned, and the combined total donation of money, property and services from individuals limited to no more than $100 annually per party (plus no more than $100 to a candidate during an election year), to ensure that donations cannot be used to influence politicians or parties;
party membership fees must be counted in the contribution total (which again should be limited to no more than $100 annually), and if paid in cash must include a signed form that is required to be submitted to the election watchdog agency quarterly;
direct or indirect payments by anyone to cover any expenses of a contestant, candidate, EDA or party must count as a donation that is covered by the max. $100 donation limit, and businesses and other entities must be clearly prohibited from paying for any expenses;
loans to parties, riding associations, nomination race candidates, election candidates and party leadership candidates from corporations, unions and all other types of organizations (including political party and riding association loans to candidates) must be banned, and loans from individuals must be limited to no more than $100, so that loans cannot be used to influence the politicians or parties (loans could be allowed from a public fund, but should be limited to the average annual amount of donations received during the previous two years);
donations by political parties to riding associations and candidates must be limited to decrease the possibility of party headquarters influencing the selection of candidates by riding associations, and to make associations and candidates more independent from party headquarters;
as federal political party leadership campaign candidates are required to do, all candidates, politicians, parties, riding associations and third parties must be required to disclose publicly all donations, gifts, and the status of any loans, regularly and during the week before advance voting begins, and weekly after that right up to election day, so voters know who is bankrolling them;
parties, candidates and contestants must also be required to disclose every quarter, and before any voting occurs in any election or nomination or leadership contest, the identities of everyone who has worked for them, done any fundraising for them and/or done more than a bit of volunteering in other ways, to ensure that the public knows who parties, candidates and contestants owe and all the conflicts of interest created by their assistance;
disclosure of the identity of each individual donor’s employer must be required (as in the U.S.) and disclosure of each donor’s direct organizational affiliations must also be required (to help ensure that corporations, unions and other organizations are not funneling donations through their employees or board members);
riding associations and political parties must be prohibited (as federal election candidates and MPs have been) from having a secret trust fund and from taking secret, unlimited donations into the fund;
a public funding system should be established that matches on a sliding scale up to $500,000 ($1 million at the federal level) in annual donations raised by each party, and up to $25,000 raised by any nomination race or election candidate (including an independent candidate), and up to $100,000 raised by any party leadership candidate ($200,000 at the federal level);
if an independent study shows that parties need more funding to operate and inform voters than they can raise from donors (when the annual donation limit is changed to $100, and a donation-matching system has been established), annual per-vote public funding of parties should be established, but the annual amount should be maximum $1 per vote received at the federal level (50 cents per vote in any province or territory – to ensure that in order to prosper parties need to have active, ongoing support of a broad base of individuals) and riding associations should be required to receive a fair share of this funding (to decrease the control of party headquarters over riding associations);
spending limits must be established for political party leadership campaigns to ensure a level playing field for all candidates;
wherever election dates are fixed every few years, spending by candidates, riding associations, political parties must be limited for a few months before each election day, and in any case limited during the election campaign period;
parties, candidates, contestants and riding associations must all be required to disclose all details about their spending (including parties and riding associations being required to disclose every 3 months a detailed financial statement of their revenue and spending) to ensure they are not using donors’ money and public subsidies to pay anyone’s personal costs (such as a politician’s defence costs in a court case about their alleged violation of a law) and they all must be prohibited from spending the money they raise in improper ways such as giving grants to community groups or individuals between elections as a way of buying votes at election time;
third parties that are businesses must be prohibited from spending on political advertising at any time (they should only be allowed to send emails to their employees and shareholders, issue news releases, letters to the editor and op-eds, and issue and public reports) because businesses don’t vote and so do not have a Charter right to expression during elections, and because business executives do not actually represent the political interests of either their employees or their shareholder owners (this prohibition should not apply to worker-owned cooperatives, as they do represent the political interests of their owners). Foreign-owned or controlled businesses should be prohibited not only from political advertising, but also from sending policy-related or political emails to their employees or shareholders, issuing news releases etc. or participating in other political activities (surveys, phone banks, door-knocking) to help prevent foreign interference in Canadian politics.
the spending limit for other third parties (i.e. individuals and organizations) should cover not just all ads but (as Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer has recommended) all public communications and all other activities supporting or opposing candidates, nomination or party leadership contestants, parties or party officials, or about policy issues, in the few months leading up to the election, during an election and between elections. The limit should not cover emails to employees or organization supporters, and for any election campaign period or contest period or policy process between elections, the comply with the fundamental democratic principle of one person, one vote, the limit should be a small amount per individual — for example, one individual would be allowed to spend $10 on ads, and an organization with 50 supporters would be allowed to spend $50 ($1 per supporter) and an organization with 1,000 supporters would be allowed to spend $1,000 (again $1 per supporter) etc.
individuals and interest groups (corporations, unions, and all other types of organizations) must be required to disclose in a searchable database an accurate estimate of total spending on any public education and advocacy campaign they undertake during an election (before election day), and in between elections;
individuals and interest groups (unions, and all other types of organizations, including charities) that do public education or advocacy campaigns must also be required to upload into an online, searchable database their major annual donors and total annual funding to reveal if they are largely or entirely funded by one person or entity or only a few people or entities (this is needed to prevent unions and others from setting up front groups that push their agenda);
social media companies must be required to disclose in real time in a searchable, online public database the identities of anyone or any organization that pays for advertising that relates to a party, candidate, nomination or party leadership contestant, election or law, public policy or program, in the few months leading up to the election, during an election and between elections, and to disclose the ad that they paid for, and the amount that was spent on the ad, and the election agency must be empowered to order the company to delete the advertisement if it makes any false claim, and to proceed to impose a penalty on the advertiser for the false claim;
all election agencies across Canada must be empowered and required to regularly audit all donations, spending by parties, riding associations, candidates and third parties, and voting, and to conduct post-election audits after each general and by-election, with all the results made public, and they must be required to correct problems revealed by the audits.
election agencies across Canada, or the auditor general in each jurisdiction, must be empowered to review government advertising and to stop or change any ad that is partisan or misleading;
all penalties for violating donation or spending rules must be increased to minimum $100,000 fine and a multi-year jail term, and loss of any severance payment, and a partial clawback of any pension payments;
all election agencies across Canada must be empowered and required to disclose the rulings they make on all complaints they receive as soon as they make the ruling, and the rulings they make on all investigations they initiate themselves.

Please let me know what you will do to ensure that these changes are made as soon as possible. I will be deciding which political party to vote for in the next election based on the responses I receive from representatives in each party. I look forward to hearing from you.

Hello,
Surveys show that a large majority of Canadians believe governments are driven by wealthy interest groups, especially corporate donors, and that governments regularly act unethically to help their business friends and are not doing enough to stop corruption. Surveys also show that a large majority of Canadians support placing strict limits on the influence of wealthy interests in politics.
I am joining this call for changes to end secret, unlimited donations and loans to political parties and politicians across Canada, and for other key changes to make political finance systems across Canada fully democratic.
We don’t allow hockey players to give donations to referees, so why is this legal in politics? Politicians are the referees who decide what is in the public interest, so it makes no sense at all to allow wealthy interests to buy influence with large donations and gifts to candidates and political parties (including secret donations).
While the passage of federal Bill C-24 in 2004 and Bill C-2 in 2006 helped rein in this influence, several flaws and loopholes in the federal political donations and campaign spending law remain, and must be corrected and closed if the law is to be effective. These loopholes also exist in every province and territory.
Many recent scandals in Canadian politics, in Alberta, in Quebec, and with a federal Cabinet minister for donations and overspending, and with suspicious donations to a federal Conservative riding association in Quebec, have made people realize how loophole-filled and weak the restriction of money in politics is in Canada. As well, Italian police have said that Ontario has a mafia corruption problem in the construction industry even worse than in Quebec.
The nation-wide Money in Politics Coalition made up of 50 citizen groups with a combined total membership of more than 3 million Canadians supports these key changes.
Specifically:
<ol>
<li>if not already banned, donations from corporations, unions and other organizations must be banned, and the combined total donation of money, property and services from individuals limited to no more than $100 annually per party (plus no more than $100 to a candidate during an election year), to ensure that donations cannot be used to influence politicians or parties;</li>
<li>party membership fees must be counted in the contribution total (which again should be limited to no more than $100 annually), and if paid in cash must include a signed form that is required to be submitted to the election watchdog agency quarterly;</li>
<li>direct or indirect payments by anyone to cover any expenses of a contestant, candidate, EDA or party must count as a donation that is covered by the max. $100 donation limit, and businesses and other entities must be clearly prohibited from paying for any expenses;</li>
<li>loans to parties, riding associations, nomination race candidates, election candidates and party leadership candidates from corporations, unions and all other types of organizations (including political party and riding association loans to candidates) must be banned, and loans from individuals must be limited to no more than $100, so that loans cannot be used to influence the politicians or parties (loans could be allowed from a public fund, but should be limited to the average annual amount of donations received during the previous two years);</li>
<li>donations by political parties to riding associations and candidates must be limited to decrease the possibility of party headquarters influencing the selection of candidates by riding associations, and to make associations and candidates more independent from party headquarters;</li>
<li>as federal political party leadership campaign candidates are required to do, all candidates, politicians, parties, riding associations and third parties must be required to disclose publicly all donations, gifts, and the status of any loans, regularly and during the week before advance voting begins, and weekly after that right up to election day, so voters know who is bankrolling them;</li>
<li>parties, candidates and contestants must also be required to disclose every quarter, and before any voting occurs in any election or nomination or leadership contest, the identities of everyone who has worked for them, done any fundraising for them and/or done more than a bit of volunteering in other ways, to ensure that the public knows who parties, candidates and contestants owe and all the conflicts of interest created by their assistance;</li>
<li>disclosure of the identity of each individual donor’s employer must be required (as in the U.S.) and disclosure of each donor’s direct organizational affiliations must also be required (to help ensure that corporations, unions and other organizations are not funneling donations through their employees or board members);</li>
<li>riding associations and political parties must be prohibited (as federal election candidates and MPs have been) from having a secret trust fund and from taking secret, unlimited donations into the fund;</li>
<li>a public funding system should be established that matches on a sliding scale up to $500,000 ($1 million at the federal level) in annual donations raised by each party, and up to $25,000 raised by any nomination race or election candidate (including an independent candidate), and up to $100,000 raised by any party leadership candidate ($200,000 at the federal level);</li>
<li>if an independent study shows that parties need more funding to operate and inform voters than they can raise from donors (when the annual donation limit is changed to $100, and a donation-matching system has been established), annual per-vote public funding of parties should be established, but the annual amount should be maximum $1 per vote received at the federal level (50 cents per vote in any province or territory – to ensure that in order to prosper parties need to have active, ongoing support of a broad base of individuals) and riding associations should be required to receive a fair share of this funding (to decrease the control of party headquarters over riding associations);</li>
<li>spending limits must be established for political party leadership campaigns to ensure a level playing field for all candidates;</li>
<li>wherever election dates are fixed every few years, spending by candidates, riding associations, political parties must be limited for a few months before each election day, and in any case limited during the election campaign period;</li>
<li>parties, candidates, contestants and riding associations must all be required to disclose all details about their spending (including parties and riding associations being required to disclose every 3 months a detailed financial statement of their revenue and spending) to ensure they are not using donors’ money and public subsidies to pay anyone’s personal costs (such as a politician’s defence costs in a court case about their alleged violation of a law) and they all must be prohibited from spending the money they raise in improper ways such as giving grants to community groups or individuals between elections as a way of buying votes at election time;</li>
<li>third parties that are businesses must be prohibited from spending on political advertising at any time (they should only be allowed to send emails to their employees and shareholders, issue news releases, letters to the editor and op-eds, and issue and public reports) because businesses don’t vote and so do not have a Charter right to expression during elections, and because business executives do not actually represent the political interests of either their employees or their shareholder owners (this prohibition should not apply to worker-owned cooperatives, as they do represent the political interests of their owners). Foreign-owned or controlled businesses should be prohibited not only from political advertising, but also from sending policy-related or political emails to their employees or shareholders, issuing news releases etc. or participating in other political activities (surveys, phone banks, door-knocking) to help prevent foreign interference in Canadian politics.</li>
<li>the spending limit for other third parties (i.e. individuals and organizations) should cover not just all ads but (as Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer has recommended) all public communications and all other activities supporting or opposing candidates, nomination or party leadership contestants, parties or party officials, or about policy issues, in the few months leading up to the election, during an election and between elections. The limit should not cover emails to employees or organization supporters, and for any election campaign period or contest period or policy process between elections, the comply with the fundamental democratic principle of one person, one vote, the limit should be a small amount per individual — for example, one individual would be allowed to spend $10 on ads, and an organization with 50 supporters would be allowed to spend $50 ($1 per supporter) and an organization with 1,000 supporters would be allowed to spend $1,000 (again $1 per supporter) etc.</li>
<li>individuals and interest groups (corporations, unions, and all other types of organizations) must be required to disclose in a searchable database an accurate estimate of total spending on any public education and advocacy campaign they undertake during an election (before election day), and in between elections;</li>
<li>individuals and interest groups (unions, and all other types of organizations, including charities) that do public education or advocacy campaigns must also be required to upload into an online, searchable database their major annual donors and total annual funding to reveal if they are largely or entirely funded by one person or entity or only a few people or entities (this is needed to prevent unions and others from setting up front groups that push their agenda);</li>
<li>social media companies must be required to disclose in real time in a searchable, online public database the identities of anyone or any organization that pays for advertising that relates to a party, candidate, nomination or party leadership contestant, election or law, public policy or program, in the few months leading up to the election, during an election and between elections, and to disclose the ad that they paid for, and the amount that was spent on the ad, and the election agency must be empowered to order the company to delete the advertisement if it makes any false claim, and to proceed to impose a penalty on the advertiser for the false claim;</li>
<li>all election agencies across Canada must be empowered and required to regularly audit all donations, spending by parties, riding associations, candidates and third parties, and voting, and to conduct post-election audits after each general and by-election, with all the results made public, and they must be required to correct problems revealed by the audits.</li>
<li>election agencies across Canada, or the auditor general in each jurisdiction, must be empowered to review government advertising and to stop or change any ad that is partisan or misleading;</li>
<li>all penalties for violating donation or spending rules must be increased to minimum $100,000 fine and a multi-year jail term, and loss of any severance payment, and a partial clawback of any pension payments;</li>
<li>all election agencies across Canada must be empowered and required to disclose the rulings they make on all complaints they receive as soon as they make the ruling, and the rulings they make on all investigations they initiate themselves.</li>
</ol>
Please let me know what you will do to ensure that these changes are made as soon as possible. I will be deciding which political party to vote for in the next election based on the responses I receive from representatives in each party. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for sending your letter, and please help keep this campaign going until these key democracy reforms are won. To donate now, please click here.

NOTE: Democracy Watch will protect your privacy, and keep you informed about this campaign and others.

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Advocating for stronger and more democratic political donation, loan, finance and spending laws

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Background