A dozen municipal political parties in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Langley Township and Kelowna are being probed by Elections B.C. for possibly breaking campaign financing laws during the 2022 civic elections.
The investigations are looking into one of three possible contraventions: accepting prohibited contributions, failing to deal with prohibited contributions as the law requires and sponsoring election ads without an authorization statement, Elections B.C. said in a Thursday statement.
Among the parties — also termed “elector organizations” — under scrutiny are Vancouver’s A Better City (ABC), the slate of Mayor Ken Sim and the city’s current council majority; Contract with Langley, the banner of Mayor Eric Woodward and a council majority there; and the Burnaby Citizens Association, which holds a council majority but not the mayor’s seat.
No wrongdoing has been confirmed and all parties have been co-operative thus far, Elections B.C. said. Investigations into each party are proceeding separately from one another.
Elections B.C. said the investigation was launched after reviewing and auditing campaign finance disclosures and supplementary filings.
If it’s discovered that parties have broken rules, they can face enforcement action including administrative monetary penalties, Elections B.C. said, adding it will confirm if parties are complying with the law.
Here are the city parties under investigation:
Vancouver
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A Better City Vancouver (ABC Vancouver)
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Civic Non-Partisan Association (NPA)
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Forward Together
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Progress Vancouver
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Vision Vancouver Elector Association
Surrey
Burnaby
Richmond
Langley Township
Kelowna
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Spirit Alliance
Across B.C., individual candidates and political parties seeking local office spent a combined $22.1 million in the 2022 elections. That’s up from $16.2 million in 2018.