Who can I hire to help me run for council, and what does it cost?

Which campaign roles does the law require?

In BC every candidate has a financial agent. You fill the role yourself unless you appoint someone. A federal candidate must appoint an official agent before raising or spending anything. Ontario requires no agent, but you are personally responsible for the books and need an auditor above $10,000.

The BC financial agent opens the campaign account, deposits contributions, pays expenses, keeps the records and files the disclosure statement within 90 days after general voting day. Their name goes on your ads, so pick someone careful. Ontario’s guide suggests talking to an auditor or accountant early.

Can I pay a campaign manager or consultant?

Yes. Their fee is a campaign expense paid from the campaign account and reported on your statement. In BC the part of the work used in the campaign period counts toward your expense limit. Federally only the official agent, or someone they authorize in writing, can incur the expense.

Ontario counts costs your campaign manager incurs under your direction as your campaign expenses. Elections BC lists professional services among election expenses alongside advertising and research. Federal expenses must also be reasonable. Elections Canada’s own example of an unreasonable one is paying a campaign worker $5,000 for 30 hours of phone calls.

What if a friend in the business helps for free?

That is a donation. BC, Ontario and federal rules all treat free professional work as a contribution at market value when the person normally charges for it. It counts toward their donation limit and your spending. Ordinary volunteer time, like knocking on doors, is not a donation anywhere.

Elections BC’s example is $150 of free interview coaching from a self-employed coach. That is a $150 contribution and a $150 expense. Anything above the donor’s $1,429.70 limit has to be paid from the campaign account. Federally a gift of services under $200 from someone not in that business is treated as nil. A BC volunteer must be unpaid and cannot be paid by their employer for campaign time.

Can a business give me a discount?

Not in BC or Ontario. A discount offered only to you is a contribution and businesses cannot contribute there. In Alberta a business can give within a $5,000 total across a municipality’s council candidates. The discount is reported as its contribution. Federally corporations cannot contribute at all.

An individual can sell you something below market value. In BC and Ontario the difference is their contribution and counts against their limit.

What does campaign help cost in Canada?

Plan it as a share of your spending limit. A councillor can spend $39,915.05 in Victoria and $62,353.64 in Kelowna in 2026, and an Ontario ward of 20,000 electors allows $22,000. Strategy, research and a website fit inside a budget that size, next to signs, mail and ads.

Find your limit on the BC 2026 expense limits table or with the Ontario formula in how much it costs to run for council. What a site has to carry is in what a Canadian campaign website needs.

What should I ask before hiring anyone?

Get the answers in writing before you sign.

• Will you bill at your normal rate? A discount can become a prohibited contribution.
• Will every ad you make carry the authorization line, and whose name goes on it?
• Who owns the domain, the site, the email list and the voter data after voting day?
• Do you work for anyone else running for the same office in the same place?
• How will your invoices line up with my expense limit and the campaign period?
• Who pays for tools and ad spend: you or the campaign account?

Does this change for MLA or MP races?

Federal candidates must have an official agent and, past $10,000, a CPA auditor. Only the official agent accepts donations, online ones included. The 2026 federal contribution limit is $1,775. Provincial rules differ by province and are set by each election agency.

Federal volunteer labour means a free service given outside working hours by someone who does not normally charge for it. A self-employed person who gives free the service they normally sell is making a contribution at commercial value.