An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum

Bill S-222 was a Senate Private Member's Bill amending the Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9) and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum (SOR/2000-282). Brought after the 2021 federal election generated record third-party advertising spending (Elections Canada reported $14.8 million in registered third-party advertising spending in 2021, up from $5.3 million in 2019). The bill would have lowered the threshold for third-party-political-activity disclosure under section 349.2 of the Act, added new federal authority over foreign-funded political-advertising-via-Canadian-proxies, and strengthened the Commissioner of Canada Elections investigative authority under section 510.2. Did not pass third reading.