Wednesday September 23, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
Today Elections BC has announced that expenses limits have been established for candidates, political parties, and third party sponsors for British Columbia’s 42nd Provincial General Election.
| Political entity | Expense limit |
| Candidates | $66,123.96 |
| Political parties | $4,590,179.80 |
| Third party sponsors | $3,420.20 in a single electoral district | $171,010.24 province-wide |
These limits are in effect as of September 21, 2020, the day the election was called and the official start of the campaign period. The campaign period will end when voting closes on General Voting Day, October 24, 2020, at 8 p.m. Pacific time.
Expense limits for political parties are based on the number of registered voters when the election is called.
Longer campaign in 2020:
Unscheduled elections in British Columbia have longer campaign periods than scheduled elections. The campaign period for this election will be 34 days long, as opposed to the usual 29-day campaign period in a fixed date election.
As a result, the above expense limits have been adjusted to account for the extra days in the campaign period, as well as changes to the consumer price index.
Advertising by candidates:
With the start of the campaign period, rules for third party sponsors are now in effect. Third party advertising is any political advertising that promotes or opposes, directly or indirectly, the election of a party or candidate.
Third party sponsors must register with Elections BC before conducting any advertising, and must be independent of political parties and candidates.
The current list of registered third parties is 12 pages long (including a wide range of interests including environment, teachers and law), available online: https://elections.bc.ca/docs/fin/Registered-Third-Party-Advertising-Sponsors.pdf
Third party sponsors must also include their name and contact information on all advertising, and file financial disclosure statements with Elections BC. Sponsors that conduct more than $10,000 in advertising during the campaign period will also be required to file initial and subsequent disclosure reports within 14 days.
For more information, visit the Elections BC website at elections.bc.ca.
