A third party is any person or entity that is not a political party, candidate or constituency association, and that engages in political advertising. Third parties include corporations, partnerships, unincorporated businesses and associations, and many other groups.
Registration for Third Party Advertisers opens on May 1, 2026 and closes on October 23, 2026
Candidates and Third Party Advertisers are required to identify themselves on campaign advertisements and signs, so that it is clear who is responsible for each sign and advertisement that appears or is broadcast.
A third-party advertisement is an advertisement in any broadcast, print, electronic or other medium that promotes, supports or opposes a candidate, or a “yes” or “no” answer to a question on the ballot. Advertisements can include traditional ads as well as materials such as brochures or signs.
Activities that do not involve incurring expenses, such as discussions or expressing an opinion about a candidate (or an answer to a question on the ballot) are not considered to be third-party advertising.
Examples include:
- speaking to friends and neighbours
- posting on social media, such as X, Facebook or Instagram
- sending an email to a group or mailing list
Only those who have registered can spend money on third party advertising.
The following are eligible to register as a third party advertiser:
- any person who is a resident in Ontario
- a corporation carrying on business in Ontario
- a trade union that holds bargaining rights for employees in Ontario
If 2 or more corporations are owned or controlled by the same person or people, or if 1 corporation controls another, they are considered to be a single corporation. If the same person or people own or control multiple corporations, only 1 of those corporations may register to be a third party in a municipality.
There is no restriction against family members of campaign staff of candidates registering to be third party advertisers. However, third party advertising must be done independently of the candidate. If a person with close ties to a candidate wishes to register they should consider how these activities may look to the public and how they would be able to demonstrate that they were not working in co-ordination with the candidate.
The following are not eligible to register as a third party advertiser:
- A candidate running for any municipal council or school board office
- Groups, associations or businesses that are not corporations
- Candidates in the provincial election prior to the Provincial Election Day
- Federal and Provincial political parties
Political parties are not permitted to be financially involved in municipal elections.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has produced a Third Party Advertisers Guide to provide information to candidates in municipal and school board elections which is available to read.
