Campaign Finances

A candidate is required under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) to:

• Open a campaign account in the name of the candidate or the candidate’s election campaign at a financial institution for the purposes of the election campaign. This must be done at the time the candidate gives written notice of intent or as soon as possible after the total amount of contributions first exceeds $1,000 in total. 
• Use the money in the above account only for the payment of campaign expenses.
• Value contributions of real property, personal property and services. 
• Issue receipts for every contribution and obtain receipts for every expense.
• Keep records of contributions and expenses for three years from the date the disclosure statement was required to be filed. 
• Give proper direction to anyone authorized to accept or solicit campaign contributions or incur expenses. 
• Return any contribution received in contravention of the legislation to the contributor. 
• Remit to the Municipality any anonymous contribution that cannot be returned.
• File disclosure statements by the deadline of March 1, 2026.  

A contributor must ensure they are not prohibited from contributing and must heed the spending limits.

All candidates and all acting on their behalf must advise prospective contributors about the contribution rules of the LAEA.

• Contributions are not permitted and campaign expenses cannot be incurred until the candidate has filed a Notice of Intent. (In accordance with the requirements under the LAEA).
• Anyone who intends to be nominated or has been nominated for election in a local jurisdiction must give written notice to the local jurisdiction.
• A written notice must include: 
  • The full name, address and contact information of the candidate.
  • The address of the place or places where records of the individual are maintained and of the place to which communications may be addressed.
  • The names and addresses of the financial institutions to be used by or on behalf of the individual as depositories for campaign contributions made to that individual.  
  • The names of the signing authorities for each depository referred to above.  
  • No candidate and no person acting for a candidate shall accept a contribution in respect of an election outside the campaign period for that election. 

The following election campaign expenses are permitted under provincial legislation: 

• 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.
• Conducting surveys or research during the campaign period.
• The production of a review engagement required under the LAEA.  

A contribution means any money, personal property, real property or service that is provided to or for the benefit of a candidate’s election campaign without fair market value compensation from the candidate. It does not include a service from a volunteer who receives no compensation. 

• No prohibited organization (please review the LAEA for information regarding a prohibited organization), individual who ordinarily resides outside Alberta, or trade union or employee organization other than an Alberta trade union or Alberta employee organization is permitted to make a contribution to a candidate.
• Contributions by an individual who ordinarily resides in Alberta shall not exceed (refer to table below), in the case of a general election, in a calendar year during the campaign period, or, in the case of a by-election, during the campaign period. 

Campaign expenses paid from the candidate’s own funds and not reimbursed from the candidate’s campaign account by the end of the campaign period, is a contribution to the candidate’s own campaign. 

• Contributions are not allowed from prohibited organizations, individuals who ordinarily reside outside Alberta, or from a trade union or employee organization that is not an Alberta trade union or Alberta employee organization. 
• Candidates and anyone acting on their behalf must not solicit or accept contributions if they know (or should know) the amount will exceed the allowed amounts.

Read the campaign expense limit fact sheet for instructions and tips on how to calculate your expense limits. 

The Expense Limits Regulation establishes the following campaign expense limits for municipal candidates and are based on the population in the most recently published Municipal Affairs Population List. The population list may be viewed at the Alberta Municipal Affairs Population List.

A candidate for election as a councillor may not incur campaign expenses in the first two years of a campaign period after a general election.

BEFORE election year

• Candidates for Mayor may incur expenses up to $10,000 or $0.50 per person based on the population of the local jurisdiction, whichever is greater. 
• Candidates for Councillor other than the Mayor may incur campaign expenses up to $10,000 or $0.50 per person based on the average population of the wards in the local jurisdiction, whichever is greater. 

DURING election year

• Candidates for Mayor may incur campaign expenses up to $20,000 or $1 per person based on the population of the local jurisdiction, whichever is greater. 
• Candidates for Councillor other than the Mayor may incur campaign expenses up to $20,000 or $1 per person based on the average population of the wards in the local jurisdiction, whichever is greater. 

For by-elections, candidates for both Mayor and Councillor will have campaign expense limits equal to the limits for the year of a general election. 

Any anonymous contributions and any prohibited contributions must not be used or expended, and the candidate or the person acting on behalf of the candidate must:

• Return the contribution to the contributor. 
• If the contributor’s identity cannot be established, pay an amount equivalent to the contribution to a registered charity or to the local jurisdiction for which the candidate is running for the election. 

Corporations and unions may donate to candidate campaigns; such donations may not exceed:

• $5,000 in total to all candidates in a municipality during the campaign period.
• $5,000 in total to all candidates per school board election during the campaign period.
• $5,000 in total to all candidates per separate school board election during the campaign period.

The amendments to the LAEA now require candidate financial disclosures to be available on the local jurisdiction’s website in perpetuity.

The LAEA already contained requirements for how campaign surpluses must be handled. Changes clarify that these provisions also apply to candidates who have filed an intent to run but withdraw from an election.

In both circumstances, if the surplus is $1,000 or more the candidate has 60 days after filing the disclosure.

If a candidate has received campaign contributions, has self-funded their campaign, or has funded their campaign with a combination of self-funding and campaign contributions, the candidate is required to file a disclosure statement with the Municipality.

The campaign disclosure statement must include

• The total amount of all campaign contributions that did not exceed $50 in total from any single contributor.
• The contributor’s name and address, if the amount received from that contributor exceeds $50 in total.
• The total amount of all contributions received outside the campaign period, including those of the candidate.
• The total amount from fund-raising functions.
• The total amount of other revenue.
• The total amount of campaign expenses.
• An itemized campaign expense report.
• The total amount of money paid by the candidate.
• The total amount of any campaign surplus, including any surplus from previous campaigns.
• The amount of any deficit.

A candidate who has incurred campaign expenses or received campaign contributions of $50,000 or more must file a review engagement with their disclosure statement.

A candidate who withdraws their nomination at any time during the nomination period is required to file their disclosure statement by the deadline of March 1, 2026.

If the candidate’s disclosure statement shows a surplus, the candidate must donate any surplus amount that is $1000 or more to a registered charity within 60 days after filing their disclosure statement and may retain any surplus amount that is under $1000.

If the candidate’s disclosure statement shows a deficit, the candidate must eliminate any deficit within 60 days after filing their disclosure statement.

If a candidate becomes aware of any information reported in the disclosure statement or the review engagement has changed or has not been completely or accurately disclosed, the candidate must submit a supplementary statement within 30 days.

A candidate who does not file the disclosure statement by the legislated deadline will be ineligible for nomination for any municipal election for a period of up to 10 years. Elected Council members would be disqualified from Council.

All disclosure statements and supporting documents are available for public viewing during regular business hours for a period of four years after the election.

If you have questions about campaign financing, please contact Municipal Advisory at 780-427-2225 (Toll-free by dialing 310-0000 first) or via email at: ma.advisory@gov.ab.ca

Local Authorities Election Act, King’s Printer:

https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/570.cfm?frm_isbn=9780779839575&search_by=link" target="_blank"

Bill 20: Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, Legislative Assembly of Alberta:

https://docs.assembly.ab.ca/LADDAR_files/docs/bills/bill/legislature_31/session_1/20230530_bill-020.pdf

Manuals and election resources:

https://www.alberta.ca/municipal-elections-overview

Expense Limits Regulation MSD:073/24:

https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/Documents/MinOrders/2024/MunicipalAffairs/2024_MSD073-24_Municipal_Affairs.pdf