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Status and purpose

• Bill S-213 was at first reading on May 28, 2025. It would amend the Canada Elections Act to require certain registered parties to publish diversity-related information and the Chief Electoral Officer to collect and report demographic information.

Registered parties

• The new disclosure obligations would apply to registered parties whose candidates received, in the most recent general election, at least 2% of all valid votes cast, or at least 5% of valid votes cast in districts where the party endorsed a candidate.
• Covered parties would have to publish on their websites information about candidate-selection rules, diversity programs and policies, implementation measures, assessment and cumulative progress.
• They would also have to publish information about plans and targets for nominating women, relevant nomination rules in specified circumstances, and progress toward targets.
• If a party has no specified program, policy, plan or rules, it would instead have to state its reasons and any proposed timeline for adoption. Information would have to be updated annually, and parties would have to publish a contact for concerns.
• The bill would add these obligations to the existing procedure for non-voluntary deregistration when the Chief Electoral Officer believes on reasonable grounds that an obligation has not been performed.

Demographic information

• The Chief Electoral Officer would have to provide voluntary self-identification questionnaires to specified candidates, nomination contestants and registered leadership contestants.
• The Officer could collect demographic information considered appropriate, in a format supporting disaggregation and analysis of intersecting variables. It must include variables relevant to each “designated group,” as defined in the Employment Equity Act.
• Collected information would be confidential and usable only for the required reports. Published information must be anonymized.
• A general-election report covering candidates and nomination contestants would be due within 90 days after the return of the writ. Reports for by-elections and leadership contests would be published at a time the Officer considers appropriate.
• The Speaker of the House of Commons would have to submit a report received under the new reporting provision to the House without delay.

Coming into force

• The new party disclosure obligations would take effect on the second anniversary of royal assent.