A third party advertiser is an individual, corporation or trade union that pays for advertisements or other materials that support, promote or oppose a candidate or question on the ballot.
Any eligible individual, corporation or trade union must register as a third party advertiser before incurring any expenses or accepting contributions.
You can register as a third party advertiser as of May 1, 2026.
An individual resident of Ontario
A corporation carrying on business in Ontario
A trade union that holds bargaining rights for employees in Ontario
A candidate in the municipal or provincial election
A group, association or business that is not a corporation
A federal or provincial political party
The Crown in right of Canada or Ontario, a municipality or local board
If you are registering as an individual, you must provide a piece of identification that proves your identity and that you live in Ontario.
There is no restriction against family members or campaign staff of candidates registering to be third party advertisers. However, third party advertising must be done independently of the candidate.
If you are a person with close ties to a candidate, you should consider the following:
If you are registering on behalf of a corporation, you must provide:
If the corporation has more than one director, provide a resolution from the board authorizing you to act as the corporation’s representative.
Where multiple corporations are owned or controlled by the same person or group, only one corporation may register as a third party advertiser.
If you are registering on behalf of a trade union, you must provide:
All financial requirements are outlined in Financial Filing Requirements and Notice of Penalties.
Registration for third party advertisers will open on May 1 at 8:30 a.m.
If you are interested in registering as a third party advertiser, you or an individual from your corporation can take the following steps to register to become a third party advertiser:
