Bill C-25 Strong and Free Elections Act

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C-25 An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act and to Enact An Act to Change the Names of Certain Electoral Districts, 2026

Short Title: Strong and Free Elections Act

Bill type House Government Bill

Bill Sponsor: Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

What Government Says This Bill Does

"This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to establish new prohibitions relating to foreign influence, bribery, unauthorized use of computers, false information and the candidate nomination process. It also enacts a statute to change the names of certain electoral districts." — Official Summary, Bill C-25

What This Bill Does

  • Tightens foreign interference rules for elections, nomination contests and leadership contests
  • Bans crypto, money orders and prepaid cards as political contributions
  • Requires third parties to use only Canadian-sourced funds for election spending
  • Criminalizes AI-generated deepfakes used to impersonate candidates or election officials
  • Bans making or publishing false information about how, when or where to vote
  • Expands the Commissioner of Canada Elections' investigative and enforcement powers
  • Renames 20 electoral districts across 6 provinces at the request of sitting MPs

What It Doesn't Do

The 2025 federal election exposed a specific vulnerability: Poilievre's Carleton riding was flooded with candidates in what appeared to be a coordinated effort to crowd the ballot and bury his name. Bill C-25 patches the paperwork — banning false information on nomination papers and banning voters from signing multiple candidates' papers — but it does not close the loophole that made Carleton possible.

  • No minimum threshold to deter frivolous or bad-faith candidacies
  • No mechanism to challenge or remove candidates filed in bad faith
  • No ballot design or ordering rules to address deliberate ballot-crowding
  • The $1,000 deposit requirement already existed — and didn't stop it

The bill fixes the signature fraud. It doesn't fix the strategy.

PART 1 SUMMARY — Foreign Influence & Third Party Funding

Foreign influence:

  • Expands the ban on foreign interference to cover nomination contests and leadership contests — not just general elections
  • Extends the definition of banned foreign entities to include foreign states, foreign powers and foreign economic entities under the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act
  • Bans foreign entities from providing property, services or funds to third parties for any partisan activity, advertising or election survey
  • Bans selling advertising space to foreign entities for election or partisan messaging

Anonymous and untraceable contributions:

  • Bans all political entities — parties, candidates, nomination contestants, leadership contestants and third parties — from accepting contributions in the form of crypto assets, money orders or prepaid payment products
  • Requires any such contributions received to be returned, destroyed or surrendered to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days

Canadian-only spending rules:

  • Third parties must use only contributions from Canadian citizens or permanent residents to pay for regulated election expenses during pre-election and election periods
  • Exception: if contributions make up 10% or less of a third party's annual revenue, they may use their own funds — but must disclose full financial statements
  • Government grants from federal, provincial or municipal sources are excluded from the revenue calculation
  • Contributors of more than $200 must be named and addressed in all interim and final expense returns

PART 2 SUMMARY — Prohibitions in Relation to Voting at Nomination and Leadership Contests

  • Foreign entities, foreign states and foreign powers are banned from unduly influencing nomination and leadership contests — same standard as general elections
  • Bribery — offering or accepting — is explicitly prohibited at nomination and leadership contests
  • Intimidation and deceptive influence at nomination and leadership contests are prohibited
  • Broadcasting station bans extended to cover nomination and leadership contests

PART 3 SUMMARY — Enforcement, Penalties & Commissioner Powers

  • Maximum administrative monetary penalties increased to $25,000 for individuals and $100,000 for corporations
  • Penalties for foreign funding violations: twice the value of funds involved plus the base maximum
  • Penalties for crypto/untraceable contribution violations: twice the contribution amount plus the base maximum
  • Commissioner gains subpoena-equivalent powers — can summon witnesses, require document production and administer oaths in violation investigations
  • Commissioner can share investigation information with foreign governments under formal memoranda of understanding
  • Limitation period for summary conviction offences: 6 years; no limitation period for serious offences
  • Conspiracy, attempt, accessory after the fact and counselling are all now explicitly covered under the Act
  • Parody and satire are explicitly exempted from the deepfake impersonation prohibition

PART 4 SUMMARY — Electoral District Name Changes

20 ridings renamed at the request of sitting MPs across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Quebec. Changes take effect 90 days after Royal Assent.

WHO GAINS POWER

  • Commissioner of Canada Elections — gains subpoena-equivalent investigative powers, authority to share intelligence with foreign governments and expanded enforcement reach covering conspiracy, attempt and counselling
  • Chief Electoral Officer — gains authority to deregister parties that fail to submit compliant personal information protection policies within 3 months
  • Canadians — nomination and leadership contests now covered by the same foreign interference prohibitions as general elections

WHO LOSES POWER

  • Foreign entities, foreign states and foreign powers — explicitly banned from influencing nomination and leadership contests, not just general elections
  • Third parties — restricted to Canadian-sourced funds for all regulated election spending; anonymous and untraceable contributions prohibited
  • Political parties — must maintain and submit compliant personal information protection policies or face deregistration; banned from selling voter data or disclosing it to cause harm

WHO GAINS MONEY

  • No direct spending authorized — this Bill creates rules, not appropriations

WHO LOSES MONEY

  • Violators — penalties up to $25,000 (individuals) and $100,000 (corporations) plus multipliers tied to the value of funds involved
  • Third parties using foreign funds — liable to fines of up to five times the value of funds or property involved

THE CATCH

  • The Canadian-only funding rule for third parties has a 10% loophole — organizations where contributions represent 10% or less of annual revenue can use their own funds with no source restriction, only a disclosure requirement
  • The deepfake impersonation prohibition includes a parody/satire exemption — "manifestly for parody or satire" — which is undefined and will likely be litigated
  • Electoral district name changes are initiated by sitting MPs with no public consultation requirement — 20 ridings renamed in a single Bill
  • Amendments apply to elections called within 6 months of Royal Assent — meaning a snap election could trigger the new rules immediately

Source: Bill C-25 — Strong and Free Elections Act First Reading: March 26, 2026