Canada’s top court to decide case about Ontario election advertising rules

The Supreme Court of Canada is set to release its decision today about third-party election advertising rules in Ontario that limit spending.

The Supreme Court of Canada is set to release its decision today about third-party election advertising rules in Ontario that limit spending.

Before 2021, third parties in Ontario could spend up to $600,000 on advertising in the six months before a provincial election call.

That year, Premier Doug Ford’s government stretched that restricted spending period to one year while keeping the spending limit the same.

The Progressive Conservative government argued the extended restriction was necessary to protect elections from outside influence, but critics said it amounted to the government trying to silence criticism ahead of the 2022 provincial election.

Teachers’ unions challenged the law, which a lower court struck down and the province responded by tabling a new bill with the controversial notwithstanding clause – but that decision was then successfully challenged on appeal.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario said the use of the notwithstanding clause was fine, but found the law to be unconstitutional because it violated free expression rights of third-party advertisers.

It said the new law violated a voter’s right to meaningful participation in the electoral process, which isn’t subject to the notwithstanding clause, and gave the government one year to create new, Charter-compliant legislation.

But Ontario’s attorney general sought an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which was granted in late 2023.