“I want to protect the government's election financing. This bill is not meant to do that. Maybe in the future. Not now.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
57 statements
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
19 statements
Arab Heritage Month Act
5 statements
The Economy
15 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Housing
12 statements
The Environment
2 statements
Government Orders
Strong and Free Elections Act
A bill to change election rules, aiming to limit foreign influence and increase penalties for electoral violations. During discussion, members debated various provisions, including political party financing, nomination voting, and virtual voting, while also raising their own concerns and proposals.
“I want to make it cheaper to become a candidate. Will you put that in the bill?”
“I don't want to answer that. Maybe someone else can talk about it later.”
“The bill has good intentions. We support it mostly. We don't like some parts. We want to change them. We want to talk more in committee.”
“I'm bothered by noise. I think people should be allowed to sign more than one nomination paper. It's not a big deal if they change their mind. I want the government to limit political donations and give parties public funding instead. The current system allows too much influence by rich donors. We need to prevent fraud and manipulation in elections.”
“I don't think Canadians want to give political parties more public funding through voting dollars. The member should bring it up at committee. I'm confused by what he said about long ballots. The bill says voters can only sign one nomination form per riding and an official agent can only be the agent for one candidate in that riding. Does the Bloc agree with this?”
“I will be at committee to push my changes to political financing. I agree with stopping an official agent from representing more than one candidate. I don't agree with stopping people from signing more than one nomination paper. It hurts the secrecy of the vote and open debate. I signed my opponents' papers before to help a good race. Limiting it will let the wrong people guess who I really support.”
“I don't like letting people sign multiple nomination papers. It let too many people run and sent a political message. A $1000 deposit could block some people from running. I want to stop too many people from running without a deposit. The other guy must have ideas to not have confusing long ballots or making people write in names. I missed his first ideas. We need to talk more at committee.”
“I don't want citizens to only sign one nomination paper. That would mean they're voting for that person. They should be able to change their minds. We agree on some other measures though.”
“I want public funding back for political parties. I want to limit donations. That would be good for democracy and fighting corruption.”
“Public funding is important. We already have it when donors get a tax refund. I want to change the formula. Lower the donation limit. Only influential people can donate a lot and that's bad.”
“I think this bill is important. It tries to protect our elections. There are some parts that need more scrutiny. We need to prevent fake candidates and foreign funding. The commissioner of Elections Canada shouldn't have too much power. I hope we can work together to improve this bill.”
“I want you to keep talking. The more you talk, the less time I might have to take a real position.”
“I want higher fines. More fines show we mean business. I hope the committee agrees.”
“I want taxpayers to fund political parties. I don't want parties to get money from only rich people like at cocktail parties. My plan is to make donations smaller so parties need taxpayer money. The poor can't give as much so give them taxpayer money for parties.”
“I don't want taxpayers to fund political parties. I want people who believe in a party to donate. Limiting donations is good. Raising money from more donors is better.”
“I want to talk about how well or poorly our election rules are working. I want my colleague to say more about her election ideas.”
“I think this loophole lets people run in too many ridings. All parties agreed on that. I want to close this loophole. I think it's bad like when MPs switch parties.”
“I think the election law needs to change. We need to be careful about changing it. One party should not change election laws by itself. I want the committee to study this more. I am happy the government is finally banning foreign election interference. I also want to stop the longest-ballot protest. They use a loophole to put too many protest names on the ballot. That is not fair to real voters and local volunteers counting ballots late at night. Protest candidates should be allowed but should follow the rules. The government should let all parties make changes to this law.”
“I want to move past the problems you raised and talk about virtual voting instead. I don't actually like virtual voting. But maybe if we all talk around it then I won't have to defend our law's details.”