RMWB Election Campaign Finance

Information for 2025 Election Candidates

Campaign finance information and requirements for the 2025 election will be provided on this page as soon as the Government of Alberta provides updated election forms.

These updated forms will reflect changes to municipal elections under the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act. Until those updated forms are available, archived forms are available on the GOA website for download.

For questions about running for RMWB Mayor or Councillor, please contact RMWB Elections at 780-743-7000 or elections@rmwb.ca.

Information for School Board Trustee Candidates

For questions or information about running for Public School Trustee, contact:

Fort McMurray Public School District No. 2833

231 Hardin Street

Fort McMurray, AB T9H 2G2

Tel: (780) 799-7900

www.fmpsdschools.ca

For questions or information about running for Roman Catholic Separate School Trustee, contact:

Fort McMurray Roman Catholic Separate School Division

9809 Main Street

Fort McMurray, AB T9H 1T7

Tel: (780) 799-5700

www.fmcschools.ca

Information for Ward 4 Byelection Candidates

The Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) Part 5.1 requires campaign finance and contribution disclosure for all candidates running for municipal office and governs contributions, expenses, fund-raising, accounting obligations, surpluses, and deficits.

All official candidates, including those who withdrew their candidacy in the 2024 Ward 4 Byelection, must complete and submit Form 26 – Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement to the Municipality on or before March 4, 2025 (as required by Section 147.4 of the Local Authorities Election Act).

All campaign disclosure statement, financial statements and supporting documents are public documents.

For further information on completing and submitting Form 26, please refer to the guide:

How to Guide Form 26 – Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement

Frequently asked questions

Who can contribute to my election campaign?

A contribution is any money, personal property, real property or service that is given to a candidate to support their campaign.

Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta may contribute to your election campaign and the maximum they can contribute is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period. There is no limit on the number of candidates an eligible individual can contribute to.

As a candidate, you may contribute up to $10,000 for your own funds to your election campaign during the campaign period.

Contributions are not permitted from individuals who do not reside in Alberta or from prohibited organizations, including corporations, unincorporated organizations, trade unions and employee organizations.

Candidates must not accept anonymous contributions.

Is there an age limit for people making contributions?

The Local Authorities Election Act, which governs municipal elections in Alberta, does not legislate an age requirement for campaign contributions. Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta can contribute to a campaign.

Are businesses able to share our campaign information such as having flyers in their window, or sharing our page on social media?

A business would need to ensure that by sharing such information, they are not making a campaign contribution as it is the prospective contributor’s responsibility to ensure that before they make a contribution under Part 5.1 of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) that they are not prohibited from making a contribution.

A business would also need to review the LAEA Part 8 Third Party Advertising, which regulates third party advertising. A third party advertiser is an individual, corporation or group that promotes or opposed the election of a candidate through election advertising during the election advertising period from September 10, 2024 to end of the election day on November 4, 2024. A third party is required to register with the Municipality if they intend to incur expenses or accept contributions of at least $1000; however, if a third party plans to advertise in more than 10 jurisdictions, they must register with the Provincial Registrar appointed by Municipal Affairs and not with the Municipality.

Many external contractors to the Municipality would sponsor a candidate by giving him/her money in return for a favour back such a contract or something like that. Is that allowed by the elections policy?

No; electoral candidates may not accept contributions on the promise that the candidate would do anything for the contributor if they gain office.

Councillors cannot participate in Council meetings where they have a pecuniary interest, and a campaign contribution which was given on the understanding that the candidate would act in the contributor’s favour would qualify as a pecuniary interest.

Only individuals who ordinarily reside in Alberta may contribute to your election campaign and the maximum they can contribute is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period. There is no limit on the number of candidates an eligible individual can contribute to.

Contributions are not permitted from individuals who do not reside in Alberta or from prohibited organizations, including corporations, unincorporated organizations, trade unions and employee organizations.

Candidates must not accept anonymous contributions.

Do I need to issue receipts?

Candidates are required to issue receipts for every contribution accepted and retain receipts for every expense incurred.

Receipts issued for contributions of personal property, real property or services, must be for the fair market value of that contribution.

Issued receipts must include:

Name of the candidate or campaign.

Date of contribution.

Name of the contributor.

Address of the contributor.

Amount or value of the contribution.

Can I have a fundraising event for my campaign? Can candidates host a joint fundraising event?

Candidates are permitted to host fundraising functions, and the donation portion of the fundraising contributions is subject to contribution limits and disclosure requirements.

Candidates must record the gross income from any fundraising function held on behalf of the candidate.

If the fundraising event is a ticketed event, the candidate has the option of calculating the contribution amount in one of two ways:

By determining the difference between the cost of the ticket and the value of the goods or services that the attendee is entitled to receive;

By using the below calculation:

Cost of Ticket	Expense	Contribution & Receipt Amount
$50.00 or less* *It is not considered a contribution unless the contributor requests that it be a contribution	50% up to $25	50% up to $25
$50.01 to $100	Up to $25	The balance
$100.01 or more	Up to 25%	Minimum of 75%

Specific questions on the Local Authorities Election Act, and the interpretation of legislation such as hosting joint fundraising events, should be directed to Alberta Municipal Affairs at 780-427-2225 Toll Free 310-0000 before the phone number. It is the candidate’s responsibility to read and understand all legislation concerning elections and to seek legal and accounting advice from professionals or to contact Municipal Affairs regarding requirements under provincial legislation.

What are the allowable campaign expenses and is there a limit?

A campaign expense is any expense incurred by the candidate’s campaign to directly promote a candidate and currently there is no provincial regulation limiting the expense amount. The following election campaign expenses are permitted under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA):

the production and distribution of advertising or promotional material;

the payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity;

securing a meeting place;

the conduct of surveys or research during the campaign period; or

the production of a review engagement required under the LAEA.

Note: A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s disclosure statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent.

As a candidate, can I hire campaign staff? Can family members serve in these roles?

A candidate can hire campaign staff and family members can serve in these roles. The payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity, such as a campaign manager, is permitted.

Candidates may appoint scrutineers to observe the voting process, and the role of scrutineer is legislated. The person appointed must be at least 18 years old and must not have been convicted of an offense under the Local Authorities Election Act, the Elections Act, the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act or the Canada Elections Act within the last 10 years.

Candidates must give proper direction to any person authorized to accept or solicit campaign contributions or incur expenses and ensure anyone working on their campaign follows all legislation and regulations.

I’ve never run in an election before. How much would a campaign cost?

There are no tools to help estimate how much a typical campaign will cost. The Local Authorities Election Act Part 5.1 requires campaign finance and contribution disclosure for all candidates running for municipal office and governs contributions, expenses, fund-raising, accounting obligations, surpluses, and deficits. Currently, the legislation does not regulate campaign expense limits.

Do I need to open a Campaign Bank Account?

Candidates must open a bank account for their campaign finances as soon as possible after the total amount of campaign contributions reaches $1,000.

Campaign bank accounts must:

Be opened at a financial institution.

Be in the name of the candidate or the candidate’s campaign.

Be used to deposit all monetary contributions received by the candidate.

Be used to pay for all expenses incurred by the candidate.

The campaign bank account must only be used for the deposit of monetary campaign contributions and the payment of allowable campaign expenses.

Do I need to file a Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement?

All candidates for municipal council are required to file by March 4, 2025 the Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement (Campaign Disclosure Statement), which records the contributions received and expenses incurred by the candidate during the campaign period must be filed by March 4, 2025. The candidate must retain all campaign financial records for three years after the March 4, 2025 filing deadline.

Candidates who withdraw their nomination prior to the withdrawal deadline of 12 noon, October 8, 2024 must also file the Campaign Disclosure Statement.

The Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement must include:

The total contributions

The source of contributions

Total expenses

and the candidate must disclose:

The name and address of all individuals who contribute $50.01 or more.

Any amount received outside the campaign period of September 11, 2024 to January 4, 2025. There is a $5,000 limit outside the campaign period.

An itemized list of expenses.

A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s Campaign Disclosure Statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent.

What do I do if I have a surplus? Can I use them to recoup personal expenses with receipts?

If a candidate has a surplus (contributions exceed their expenses during the campaign period), they must act on their surplus within 60 days of filing their Campaign Disclosure Statement.

If the surplus is less than $1000, the candidate can:

Retain the surplus

Donate all or a portion of the surplus to a registered charity

If the surplus is more than $1000, the candidate must:

Donate all or a portion to a registered charity

If a portion is donated to a registered charity, the remaining surplus that is retained must be less than $1000.

Candidates who donate all or a portion of their surplus must file an amended Campaign Disclosure Statement that confirms that the surplus has been dealt with in accordance with the above.

Candidates are only permitted to use monetary campaign contributions for the payment of campaign expenses. The following election campaign expenses are permitted under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA):

the production and distribution of advertising or promotional material;

the payment of remuneration and expenses for a person’s services as a chief financial officer or in any other capacity;

securing a meeting place;

the conduct of surveys or research during the campaign period; or

the production of a review engagement required under the LAEA.

Note: A review engagement (review of the financial statements by a chartered accountant) is required to be filed with the candidate’s disclosure statement if more than $50,000 is received or spent.

What do I do if I have a deficit?

If a candidate has a deficit (expenses exceed their contributions during the campaign period), they must take action to eliminate their deficit within 60 days of filing their Campaign Disclosure Statement.

To eliminate their deficit, candidates may receive contributions to do this, including their own self-funded contributions; however, the contribution limits apply to these contributions as well.

Candidates must file an amended Campaign Disclosure Statement that confirms that the deficit has been eliminated.

Are the candidates for council allowed to receive money from sponsors from the public? if so, can those funds received be publicly released?

Candidates, who have filed their nomination for Municipal Council, can only accept campaign contributions from any individual who is ordinarily a resident of Alberta, and the maximum individual contribution is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period of September 11, 2024 to January 4, 2025. Candidates may contribute up to $10,000 of their own funds to their campaign. By March 4, 2025 all candidates for the November 4, 2024 Ward 4 By-Election are required to file campaign disclosure statements, which includes the contributor’s name if the amount received from that contributor exceeds $50 in total. All disclosure statements and supporting documents are available for public viewing during regular business hours for a period of 4 years after the election.

When a councillor candidate accepts funds from a sponsor, wouldn't it be like a conflict of interest?

Candidates can only accept campaign contributions from an individual who is ordinarily a resident of Alberta, and the maximum individual contribution is $5,000 per candidate during the campaign period of September 11,2024 to January 4, 2025. Candidates may contribute up to $10,000 of their own funds to their campaign. By March 4,2024all candidates for the November 4,2024Ward 4 By-Electionare required to file campaign disclosure statements, which includes the contributor’s name and address if the amount received from that contributor exceeds $50 in total. All disclosure statements and supporting documents are available for public viewing during regular business hours for a period of 4 years after the election.

The provincial Election Commissioner is responsible for conducting any investigations related to election finances and contributions disclosure. Any individual who has concerns with a candidate’s finances should contact the Election Commissioner’s office by one of the methods outlined at: https://www.elections.ab.ca/investigations/.

Campaign Disclosure Statements

The Campaign Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement forms for candidates for Municipal Office are available for viewing by appointment during regular business hours. Contact elections@rmwb.ca or call 780-743-7000 to set up an appointment for viewing.

In Alberta, the Election Commissioner has the authority to investigate violations, or potential violations, of Part 5.1 Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure and Part 8 Third Party Advertising of the LAEA. For more information about the Election Commissioner, complaints and investigations, please visit www.elections.ab.ca.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness or legality of the filed Campaign Disclosure Statements. Please contact candidates for questions related to their Campaign Disclosure Statements.