Elections Canada floats suggestions to shield nomination contests from meddling

Elections Canada is suggesting possible changes to protect the political nomination process from foreign meddling — including barring non-citizens from helping to choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing certain practices such as voting more than once.

The federal elections agency outlines the proposed moves in a discussion guide intended to help Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault draft final recommendations to be submitted later this year to a commission of inquiry on foreign interference.

«We recognize that some changes may create a burden for political entities or affect internal policies,» the discussion guide says.

«We believe the gain is important: Nomination contests that electors trust, and fewer opportunities for contest irregularities that lead Canadians to question the legitimacy of elected members of Parliament.»

The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the guide and an associated May 30 briefing note to Perrault.

The guide was prepared for a planned June meeting of the Advisory Committee of Political Parties, a forum for registered parties to meet with the chief electoral officer on the conduct of elections, administration of the Canada Elections Act and matters related to political financing.

It notes that at the committee's annual general meeting last September, there was «little appetite for changes» to regulation of nomination contests.

However, in early May an interim report from the federal inquiry into foreign interference, led by Justice Marie-Josee Hogue, flagged nomination contests as a possible gateway to meddling.

In this context, the chief electoral officer «has an obligation to consider ways to strengthen the transparency and