Elections Canada fines 14 candidates for violations during 2019 election

Thu, July 14, 2022 



OTTAWA — Elections Canada has issued 14 fines related to campaign fundraising and finances during the 2019 federal election.

Independent candidate Archie MacKinnon's official agent, Martin Pickup, was fined $500 for two separate violations, including accepting cash contributions over $20 and accepting a donation over the $1,600 maximum any individual can give to a candidate.

Pickup was also found to have deposited a $14,900 cheque from Elections Canada into a personal account instead of the campaign account.

A dozen people were fined between $300 and $500 for failing to submit financial returns detailing the expenses and financing of their campaigns on time, or at all.

Of those, three were candidates for the People's Party of Canada candidates, one for the Green party, one Independent and one for Canada's Fourth Front party.

The other six people fined were contestants in Liberal party nominations in their ridings.

Elections Canada requires that campaign returns be submitted within four months of polling day, or four months after the selection of a candidate in a nomination race.

The fines issued Thursday are in addition to 10 fines handed out in May, all dating back to the 2019 race.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press