Filing Guidelines for Constituency Associations
If you register a constituency association in Ontario, you must follow rules according to the Election Finances Act. Your chief financial officer (CFO) has many legal responsibilities including recording, reporting and keeping financial information.
Below is a summary of the filing requirements. For a full list of a CFO’s roles and responsibilities and complete details, please see the applicable handbook: CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members.
When you fill out a form please ensure:
- all information is accurate and complete (inaccurate information will cause delays and may be a contravention of the Election Finances Act); and
- information is typed or printed clearly on the form.
Please note that filling out these forms is not a replacement for your responsibility to follow auditable bookkeeping practices.
Please refer to the Completion Guide in each form and the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members for more information.
Your constituency association must appoint a CFO before registering with Elections Ontario. Your CFO has many legal responsibilities including recording, reporting and keeping financial information.
For guidelines about a CFO’s roles and responsibilities, please see our CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members, whichever is applicable.
Each year, your CFO is responsible for ensuring that your constituency association files financial statements with Elections Ontario by May 31 using Form AR-1: Constituency Association Annual Financial Statements.
The CFO of your constituency association must file signed, financial statements and supporting documentation with this AR-1 form. The financial statements must include all activity for the calendar year ending December 31. All financial activities that took place during a campaign period are excluded from these statements and are disclosed on the Form CR-3: Constituency Association Campaign Period Financial Statement.
For complete information on annual filing requirements for a constituency association, please see the applicable handbook: CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members.
Within six months after Election Day, your constituency association must file Form CR-3: Constituency Association Campaign Period Financial Statement.
The CFO of your constituency association must file signed, financial statements and supporting documentation with this CR-3 form. The financial statement must include all financial activity related to the election that occurred during the campaign period.
For complete information on election filing requirements for a constituency association, please see the applicable handbook: CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members.
Each political entity has specific filing requirements regarding issuing tax receipts.
For full details on tax receipting processes, see the applicable handbook: CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations or the CFO Handbook for Constituency Associations of Independent Members.
Use our Political Financing and Party Information application to find details of publicly disclosable contributions made to registered entities. Our tool allows you to search by:
- political party;
- constituency association;
- candidate;
- leadership contestant;
- third party advertiser;
- contribution reports; and
- financial statements.