Filing Guidelines for Leadership Contestants
If you register as a leadership contestant in Ontario there are rules you need to follow according to the Election Finances Act.
Below is a summary of some of the key filing requirements. For a full listing and complete details, please see the CFO Handbook for Leadership Contestants.
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)
- 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 Leadership Contestants for more information.
As a leadership contestant, you must appoint a chief financial officer (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, including how to open a bank account for the leadership contestant’s campaign, please see our CFO Handbook for Leadership Contestants.
The CFO for a leadership contestant must file two sets of signed financial statements and supporting documentation for your leadership contestant’s campaign:
1. Form CR-5: Leadership Contestant Contest Reporting Period Financial Statement (6 months)
The first set of financial statements for your leadership contestant must be filed within six months after the date of the leadership vote. This set of financial statements includes all activity from the date the leadership contest started to two months after the date of the leadership vote.
2. Form CR-5: Leadership Contestant Contest Reporting Period Financial Statement (20 months)
The second set of financial statements for your leadership contestant must be filed within 20 months after the date of the leadership vote. This set of financial statements includes all activity from two months after the date of the leadership vote until twelve months after the leadership vote.
For complete information on contest filing requirements for a leadership contestant, please see our CFO Handbook for Leadership Contestants.
In addition to the financial statements outlined above, within 15 business days of deposit, your CFO or their designate must report monetary contributions that total more than $200.00 from a single source in the contest period.
Elections Ontario must publish these contributions on our website within 2 business days of receiving the information.
For complete details on the requirement for the real-time disclosure of contributions see the CFO Handbook for Leadership Contestants.
Use our Political Financing and Party Information application to find details on 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.