Rules for Federal Election Expense Reimbursements, and Reimbursement Patterns from 2004 to 2019

In the six federal elections from 2004 to 2019 inclusive, the five main parties were the only parties that received reimbursements and,2 other than three 1 Canada Elections Act (CEA), sections 444, and 477.73 to 477.76. [...] page 1 of 3 to six other candidates each election, only candidates from the five main parties received reimbursements.3 After the 2015 federal election during which spending was extraordinarily high because the campaign period was extraordinarily long, the five main parties received a combined total of $60.6 mi. [...] 5 The five main parties’ candidates received $42,573,710 of the total $42,696,289 in reimbursements granted, and only one candidate of one other party (Forces et Démocratie - Allier les forces) and three independent candidates received reimbursements. [...] In the six federal elections from 2004 to 2019 inclusive, the Conservatives had 292 candidates on average qualify to receive the reimbursement, the Liberals had 289 on average, the NDP 237, the Bloc 70 (which obviously also benefits them greatly given they only run candidates in districts in Quebec) and the Greens only 19.8 Combined with the amounts that MPs receive in annual budgets as noted abov. [...] Removing the thresholds parties and candidates are required to meet in order to receive the reimbursement would be consistent with the main positions the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada expressed in its 2003 ruling in the Figueroa case.