Prior to 2018, third party advertising was not regulated for municipal council and school board elections. Those who wanted to advertise or distribute materials supporting or opposing a candidate did not have to identify themselves, were able to spend unlimited amounts of money, and did not have to report their advertising or financial activities to anyone.

Recent changes to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 created a framework of rules for third party advertising. This guide provides information about who can register to be a third party advertiser, what registration allows them to do, and the rules that third party advertisers must follow.

To learn more about third party advertising, please download the Guide for Third Party Advertisers for the Ontario Municipal Council and School Board Elections.

To register as a third party, please download the Form.

Every third party is responsible for keeping financial records related to their advertising campaign. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 does not require that third parties use any specific accounting system. A third party may want to consult with an auditor or an accountant to make sure that they are using a bookkeeping and accounting system that will suit their needs.

To consult the financial document that needs to be submitted, please download Form 8 - Financial Statement - Auditor's Report - Third Party.