Third-party election activities under scrutiny as complaints rise
OTTAWA — The number of complaints about third-party activities during the last federal election jumped almost nine-fold over the previous one, prompting the elections commissioner to suggest an update of the rules.
A spokeswoman for Yves Cote, the commissioner of Canada Elections, told The Canadian Press there were 105 complaints related to third-party activities in the 2015 campaign.
After the 2011 ballot, the number of complaints was just 12.
The latest statistics come as another complaint is filed by Alberta Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who alleges in a letter this month to Cote that in 2015 the U.S.-based Tides Foundation donated nearly $700,000 to eight organizations that registered as third parties for the 2015 campaign.