Section 329 of the Act outlawed publishing election results from other ridings in constituencies where polls are still open. This section was upheld by the Supreme Court in R. v. Bryan, but was repealed in 2015 because the wide use of the internet and social media had made it outdated and difficult to enforce.
Section 331 forbids those who are not citizens of Canada from " electors to vote or refrain from voting or vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate". Violators may face fines of up to $5,000 and six months imprisonment.
Section 335 requires that all broadcasters make 6.5 hours of advertising available for purchase by political parties over the course of a general election during "prime time". Even broadcasters that do not ordinarily accept advertising, such as the CBC's radio services, and premium pay TV channels like Crave/HBO and Super Channel, are required to accept these political ads during a federal election.
Section 345 requires that all CRTC-licensed over-the-air radio and television networks, which reach the majority of Canadians in the language of broadcast, allocate free time for election broadcasts. However, there are no restrictions on when these free-time broadcasts must air, and most of these networks now confine them to late night.
* Historically, CTV and the Radiomédia / Corus Québecradio network were also subject to free-time allocations; the Corus Québec network has since ceased operation, while CTV has not operated under a CRTC-issued national network licence since 2001. Note that there is currently no free-time allocation required for individual private radio or television stations, or cable specialty channels.
Section 482, which finds anyone who "induces a person to vote or refrain from voting or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate at an election" guilty of intimidation of the electoral process. Anyone convicted under s. 482 faces, on a summary conviction, a maximum $2,000 fine, or a maximum of one year in prison, or both. On an indictment, individuals found guilty face a maximum of five years in prison, a maximum $5,000 fine, or both.
Political action committees
In 2015, wealthy U.S.-style political action committees organizations were introduced to Ontario and Alberta and were expected to play a major role in Canadian political elections at the provincial and federal level. PACs are new to Canadian federal politics and are "technically federal non-profit corporations" registered with Industry Canada. The Canada Elections Act allows PACs to "spend up to $150,000 on third-party advertising during an election" but "spending outside the election period is unlimited." up until the enactment of the Elections Modernization Act in 2018, even after which spending was nonetheless unlimited outside of the defined pre-election periods. In Ontario, the union-funded Working Families Coalition, spent millions on anti-conservative ads before the 2015 Ontario provincial elections. The left-leaning organization Engage Canada, which released its first anti-Harper attack ad early June 2015. The right-leaning Conservative PAC Foundation founded by high-profile Alberta conservatives Jonathan Denis, Brad Tennant and Zoe Addington in June 2015 will fund advertising in support of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
