Canada's top court to decide case about Ontario election advertising rules

Liam Casey · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 8:40 AM EST | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Supreme Court of Canada is acceptable to merchandise its determination contiguous astir third-party predetermination advertizing rules successful Ontario that bounds spending.

Before 2021, 3rd parties successful Ontario could walk up to $600,000 connected advertizing successful the six months earlier a provincial predetermination call.

That year, Premier Doug Ford's authorities stretched that restricted spending play to 1 twelvemonth portion keeping the spending bounds the same.

The Progressive Conservative authorities argued the extended regularisation was indispensable to support elections from extracurricular influence, but critics said it amounted to the authorities trying to soundlessness disapproval up of the 2022 provincial election.

Teachers' unions challenged the law, which a little tribunal struck down and the state responded by tabling a caller measure with the arguable notwithstanding clause — but that determination was past successfully challenged connected appeal.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario said the usage of the notwithstanding clause was fine, but recovered the instrumentality to beryllium unconstitutional due to the fact that it violated escaped look rights of third-party advertisers.

It said the caller instrumentality violated a voter's close to meaningful information successful the electoral process, which isn't taxable to the notwithstanding clause, and gave the authorities 1 twelvemonth to make new, Charter-compliant legislation.

But Ontario's lawyer wide sought an entreaty to the Supreme Court of Canada, which was granted successful precocious 2023.

Prior to a 2017 instrumentality enacted by the Liberal authorities astatine the time, determination were nary limits connected third-party advertizing successful Ontario.

In the 2014 election, 3rd parties spent $8.64 million, which amounted to 17 per cent of each predetermination spending.

Unions were immoderate of the largest third-party advertisers. The Working Families Coalition, known for its anti-Tory ads, spent $2.5 cardinal during the campaign, with contributions from immoderate of the province's biggest unions.

The conjugation and respective teachers' unions are portion of the lawsuit earlier the Supreme Court portion determination are much than a twelve interveners, including the attorneys wide of Canada, Alberta and Quebec on with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario.