Campaign Contributions and Expenses

Contribution limits

A campaign contribution is defined in the Local Authorities Election Act as "any money, personal property, real property or service that is provided to or for the benefit of a candidate's election campaign without fair market value compensation from that candidate." (Section 147.1(1)(c))

Contributions can be accepted from an individual or a corporation that is based in Alberta. It cannot be accepted from the following:

• An individual or corporation that is based outside of Alberta
• A municipality
• A non-profit organization that has received funds from the municipality of Lethbridge since 2021
• An anonymous source

Candidates must submit their Notice of Intent before accepting campaign contributions or incurring expenses.

A bank account must be opened in the candidate's name.

Expense limits

A campaign expense is defined in the Local Authorities Election Act as "any expense incurred, or non-monetary contribution received, by a candidate to the extent that the property or service that the expense was incurred for, or that was received as a non-monetary contribution, is used to directly promote or oppose a candidate during a campaign period." (Section 147.1(1)(a))

Expense limits are based on Lethbridge's population at the start of the campaign period (January 1, 2022). The city's official population is 106,550.

Disclosure of contributions and expenses

An accounting of the contributions and expenses has to be filed with the municipality by March 2, 2026.

Any contribution more than $50 must be disclosed, including their name and address.

Any candidate who has incurred campaign expenses or received contributions of $50,000 or more shall also file a review engagement with the disclosure statement.

A form for the disclosure will be provided to the candidates once it has been approved by the provincial government.