Canada Elections Act - Notable Provisions

Notable Provisions

• Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act outlaws publishing election results from other ridings in constituencies where polls are still open. This section was upheld by the Supreme Court in R. v. Bryan (2007).
• Section 335 requires that all broadcasters make 6.5 hours of advertising available for purchase by political parties over the course of a general election during "prime time" (the evening hours for TV stations and specialty channels, and morning and afternoon drive for radio stations). Even broadcasters that do not ordinarily accept advertising, such as the CBC's radio services, are required to accept these political ads during a federal election.
• Section 345 requires that all CRTC-licensed over-the-air radio and television networks, which reach the majority of Canadians in the language of broadcast, allocate free time for election broadcasts (in addition to the paid availabilities described above). However, there are no restrictions on when these free-time broadcasts must air, and most of these networks now confine them to late night.
  • As of 2011, the networks subject to this provision are CBC Television, Télévision de Radio-Canada, CBC Radio One, Première Chaîne, TVA, and V. The amount of free time per election varies by network, from roughly 3.5 hours (for the CBC's TV networks) to 62 minutes (for TVA and V).
  • Historically, CTV and the Radiomédia / Corus Québec radio network were also subject to free-time allocations; the Corus Québec network has since ceased operation, while CTV has not operated under a CRTC-issued national network licence since 2001 (and other "networks" such as Global have never operated under such licences). Note that there is currently no free-time allocation required for individual private radio or television stations, or cable specialty channels.
• section 482(b), which finds anyone who "induces a person to vote or refrain from voting or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate at an election" guilty of intimidation of the electoral process. Anyone convicted under s. 482(b) faces, on a summary conviction, a maximum $2,000 fine, or a maximum of one year in prison, or both. On an indictment, individuals found guilty face a maximum of five years in prison, a maximum $5,000 fine, or both