Summary of the Notice of Violation

Name of individual, corporation or entity	Ethan Phillips
Date of violation	43rd federal general election
Section of the Act	349.6(1)
Baseline amount	$500
Aggravating factor	N/A
Mitigating factor	N/A
AMP total amount	$500
Issued by	Manager, Compliance Unit

Key facts of violation

During the pre-election period for the 43rd federal general election (June 30, 2019, to September 11, 2019), Ethan Phillips, the editor of Canada Fact Check, paid to advertise two Facebook posts promoting articles from the Canada Fact Check website. The promoted ads contained the required elements of partisan advertising, as defined at subsections 2(1) and 2(7) of the Canada Elections Act (the Act), as they opposed a registered party, the election of a potential candidate, or the leader of a registered party.

Evidence established by the Facebook Ad Library provides reasonable grounds to believe that Ethan Phillips incurred costs of over $500 for the promoted ads. In accordance with subsection 349.6(1) of the Act, a third party must register immediately after having incurred $500 in regulated pre-election period expenses, such as partisan advertising.

As of August 2, 2023, Elections Canada’s records indicate that neither Ethan Phillips nor Canada Fact Check had registered as a third party for the purposes of the 43rd federal general election.

There are therefore reasonable grounds to believe that Ethan Phillips failed to register immediately as a third party, as required by subsection 349.6(1) of the Act.