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Canadian Charities and Political Activities
4-24-2024
To be eligible for registration, the Income Tax Act requires a charity to be constituted and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, and all the charity’s resources must be devoted to charitable activities carried on by the charity itself. Charitable activities include public policy dialogue and development activities (PPDDA) that further a charitable purpose. As long as a charity’s PPDDAs are carried on in furtherance of its stated charitable purpose(s), the Income Tax Act places no limits on the amount of PPDDAs a charity can engage in.
Furthering a stated charitable purpose
A charity may engage in unlimited PPDDAs that further its stated charitable purpose(s), provided the charity never directly or indirectly supports or opposes a political party or candidate for public office (see Prohibited: Supporting or opposing a political party or candidate). In other words, a charity is free to advocate for retaining, opposing, or changing any law, policy, or decision of government in furtherance of its stated charitable purpose.
Prohibited: Supporting or opposing a political party or candidate
The Income Tax Act prohibits a charity from devoting any part of its resources to the direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office. Any activity that supports or opposes a political party or candidate is not a PPDDA, and a charity cannot carry on such an activity to any degree.
This requirement is particularly important to remember during an election period, when charities may want to express their views on the policy issues that matter to their supporters. Beyond the requirements of the Income Tax Act, charities are also subject to other legislation governing elections and activities surrounding representations to parliamentarians, such as the Canada Elections Act and the Lobbying Act.
A charity may publicly agree or disagree with a decision or position of government, but in doing so must not support or oppose any political party or candidate for public office. As a general guideline, a charity’s communications should focus on the policy issue under discussion, and not refer to any candidate or political party.
The CRA considers a candidate to be a person who meets that specific definition in the applicable election legislation. For example, a candidate in a federal election would be a person that meets the definition in The Canada Elections Act. Note that charities must not devote resources to supporting or opposing the election of any individual, even if they are not a candidate as per the applicable election legislation.
The CRA considers a political party to be an organization with a fundamental purpose to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election.
The CRA considers a candidate for public office to include a candidate seeking election to any of the following:
•the House of Commons
•a provincial or territorial legislative assembly, national assembly or parliament, band council, regional or municipal government, or similar entity
Direct and indirect support or opposition
Direct support or opposition means either of the following:
•the charity’s external messaging (for example, social media posts, website materials, print publications, speeches) communicates that it supports or opposes a political party or candidate.
•the charity transfers any of its resources (for example, financial, human, or physical resources) to a political party or candidate, or allows a political party or candidate to use its resources at below fair market value.
Examples of direct support or opposition could include:
•endorsing a candidate over social media
•telling people in person or on a charity’s website not to vote for a political party.
•making a donation to a political party or a candidate’s election campaign
•buying tickets to a political party’s fundraiser
•sending volunteers, paid staff, or board members to accompany a candidate in a door-to-door election campaign, as representatives of the charity (also see Representatives of a charity involved in politics on their own personal time)
•inviting only one candidate in an election to speak to the charity’s supporters, without giving all candidates an equal opportunity to present their views and answer questions
•allowing or assigning paid staff or volunteers to work for a candidate’s election campaign, rather than carrying on work for the charity.
•allowing a political party to use a charity’s premises, at below fair market value.
Indirect support or opposition means either of the following:
•The charity’s records or internal messaging explicitly reveal it carried on an activity to support or oppose a political party or candidate.
•The charity transfers any of its resources to a third party, to be used to support or oppose a political party or candidate.
Examples of indirect support or opposition could include:
•The internal minutes of a meeting of the directors of a charity record their explicit decision to oppose a candidate in a provincial election whose views on a policy issue differ from those of the charity, by carrying out PPDDAs that specifically target his riding but do not refer to the candidate.
•A charity temporarily assigns some of its staff members to work for a non-profit organization that it regularly collaborates with, on the understanding the staff members’ salaried time will be used to support the election campaign of a candidate who is seeking to address the same social issue as the charity.
•A charity’s internal planning documents explicitly confirm that it will oppose a political party that takes a different view on a certain policy issue, by holding a public demonstration in front of the building where the party is gathering for its annual convention.
•A charity develops an internal strategic report that explicitly states the charity will support a political party through its PPDDAs, by publishing research materials that will offer evidence and arguments in favour of the party’s position on an issue, without ever referring to the political party in its public materials.
A charity that provides a platform for the public to comment on and discuss issues (for example, a website, a blog, or a social media page) must monitor these platforms to the extent allowable by the platform itself. If possible, the charity is expected to remove, in a timely manner, any comments made on its platform that support or oppose a political party or candidate for public office. In such a case, a charity might choose to add a notice to its platform where messages that support or oppose a political party or candidate will be removed.
The CRA does not consider a charity to support or oppose a political party or candidate if it merely receives a gift from a party or candidate or is promoted by a party or candidate. For example, if a political party, candidate, or elected representative donates to a charity, or compliments the charity on social media, the CRA would not consider the charity to support or oppose that political party or candidate on this factor alone.
Representatives of a charity involved in politics on their own personal time.
The Income Tax Act prohibits a charity from directly or indirectly supporting or opposing a political party or candidate. It is the CRA’s view that this restriction does not apply to representatives of a charity, in their own personal, private capacity as individuals. That is, a representative of a charity, such as a director, is not prohibited from being involved with an election, political campaign, or any other political process in their own personal, private capacity as individuals, whether during an election period or not.
However, a charity must not use its resources, such as office space, supplies, phone, photocopier, computer, or publications, and human resources such as employees or volunteers, to support that individual’s personal political involvement.
Representatives of a charity can publicly voice their personal views on political issues, but must not use events or functions organized by the charity, the charity’s publications, or other resources such as a platform to voice their views on these issues.
In situations outside charity functions and publications, representatives of a charity, particularly leaders, who want to speak or write in their individual capacity should indicate that their comments are personal rather than the views of the charity. This is particularly important in the case of social media, where it may be difficult to tell whether a representative’s messages reflect his or her personal views, or those of a charity.
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