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Making a contribution to a political party or candidate

Summary

Electors may make a contribution to a political entity or to a candidate in a provincial, municipal, or school board election if they follow certain rules. In addition to being responsible for enforcing the appropriate legislation in matters of political financing, Élections Québec also plays an educational role.

Provincial

Making a political contribution

Here’s what you need to know if you want to make a political contribution.

  • You must be eligible to vote to make a contribution. It can be a monetary donation, a service rendered, or goods provided free of charge.
  • To receive a contribution, the political party or candidate must be authorized.
  • The official representative of a political party, party authority, authorized independent candidate, or authorized independent member is responsible for the solicitation. Any other person who solicits money from you must hold a canvasser’s certificate. Ask to see this certificate.
  • Contributions of $50 or less may be made in cash to the official representative or to a person who has a canvasser’s certificate. A contribution of more than $50 must be made by credit card, by debit card issued by a credit card company or cheque to the Chief Electoral Officer.
    • Personal credit card: use the online contribution form.
    • Personal cheque: make it payable to the Chief Electoral Officer and indicate, at the bottom of the cheque, to which party or independent candidate the contribution is made. Send the cheque to the official representative of the party or candidate or to a person who has a canvasser’s certificate.
  • An elector may contribute a maximum yearly amount of $100 to each of the authorized political parties and independent candidates. There are two opportunities for voters to contribute up to an additional $100:
    • In general elections, in the year in which they are held.
    • In a by-election, from the time the office becomes vacant until 30 days after the election, only for electors in the electoral division where the election is held.
  • A receipt must be issued to the contributor. This receipt is called a contribution slip. You must sign the slip stating that your contribution is made out of your own assets, voluntarily, without compensation or consideration, and that it will not be reimbursed in any way.
  • Your name, postal code and municipality of residence will be available through the contributor search engine.
  • The government pays $2.50 to political entities for every dollar they collect in contributions from voters. This type of public financing is called matching sums. However, there is a maximum amount beyond which the state does not pay any more money.

More information about matching sums

Statistics

This report (in French) presents statistics on political financing and reviews the actions we have taken in this area over the past year.

See all annual political financing reports

Municipal

Making a political contribution

Here's what you need to know if you want to make a political contribution.

  • You must be eligible to vote in the municipality to make a contribution. It can be a monetary donation, a service rendered, or goods provided free of charge.
  • To receive a contribution, the political party or candidate must be authorized.
  • The official representative of an authorized party or independent candidate is responsible for the solicitation of funding. Any other person who solicits money from you must hold a canvasser’s certificate. Ask to see this certificate.
  • Contributions of $50 or less may be made in cash to the official representative or to a person who has a canvasser’s certificate. Contributions of more than $50 must be made by personal credit card or personal cheque. To make a contribution by credit card, the elector must sign a form produced by the official representative.
  • All contributions must be made directly to the authorized political entity.
  • An elector may contribute a maximum yearly amount of $100 to each of the authorized political parties and independent candidates. There are two opportunities for voters to contribute up to an additional $100:
    • In a by-election, from the time the office becomes vacant until 30 days after the election
    • In general elections, in the year in which they are held
  • A receipt must be issued to the contributor. You must sign the slip stating that your contribution is made out of your own assets, voluntarily, without compensation or consideration, and that it will not be reimbursed in any way.
  • Your name, postal code and municipality of residence will be available through the contributor search engine.
  • All cash contributions are eligible for a tax credit. The maximum tax credit is $155 (85% of the first $50 and 75% of the remaining $150).

School

Making a political contribution

Here's what you need to know if you want to make a political contribution.

  • You must be eligible to vote to make a contribution. It can be a monetary donation, a service rendered, or goods provided free of charge.
  • To receive a contribution, the candidate must be authorized (or be an authorized elector).
  • The candidate is responsible for solicitation. Any other person soliciting a contribution must have been designated for this purpose, in writing, by the candidate.
  • Only contributions under $100 can be made in cash. A contribution of $100 or more must be made by means of a cheque or other form of payment signed by the elector, drawn from their account in a financial institution with an office in Québec, and it must be made payable to the candidate. All contributions must be paid to the candidate or to a person designated by to receive them.
  • A receipt must be issued to the contributor. You must sign the slip stating that your contribution is made out of your own assets, voluntarily, without compensation or consideration, and that it will not be reimbursed in any way.
  • If you make a contribution of more than $100, your name, postal code and municipality of residence will be accessible through the contributor search engine.

Other resources

The Charter of the French language and its regulations govern the consultation of English-language content.

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