Hughes St-Pierre, MA, CPA, CMA Chief Financial and Planning Officer A Look at the Conduct of Federal Elections

Overview Role and structure of Elections Canada The key activities associated with a general election The 2015 general election Some CFO challenges My CFO tool-kit – what I learned … so far 2

Elections Canada 101 Non-partisan and independent Role Objectives –Enabling the franchise –Effective electoral management –Contribute to: Integrity of the electoral process Trust in electoral management Financial and procurement authorities 3

Size and Scale of Operations In between general elections –Some 500 regular employees in NCR During general elections (additional personnel) –+ 700 employees at headquarters –338 Returning Officers and local offices –148 satellite offices –30 Field Liaison Officers –Regional Media Advisors –700 to 800 local workers in each electoral district Voting Infrastructure –5,000 advance polling sites –16,000 ordinary polling sites –1,900 mobile polling stations –66,000 polling stations 4

Elections Pictures 5

GE Activities Electors and Candidates –Canadian citizens 18 and over –Voter ID Electoral Calendar –Election date; length of campaign (min 36 days) –Preparations –Launch –Revision –Nominations –Recruitment and training of poll workers –Special ballots, advance polls and election-day voting –Election night results (preliminary) –Validation and recounts –Political financing –Review and account No second chance, replay, or delay 6

Historical event – –First election held at a fixed date –78-day calendar (minimum is 36) – unexpected mid-summer call –First time voting on a Sunday (advance poll) –Highest number of electoral district (+30) –Largest single increase in voter turnout (3.6M more voters) 26M electors 17.7M voters – 68.3% turnout 1,792 candidates 23 political parties Estimated Cost of $484M –44% at the local level –22% in reimbursements to political entities –34% at the national level (Advertising, others) General Election

Voter Turnout 8

Political Financing Six political entities regulated by the Canada Elections Act –Nomination Contestants –Candidates –Leadership Contestants –Electoral District Associations –Political Parties –Third Parties Expense limits for candidates: –Lowest: $169, (Egmont (PEI)) –Highest: $279, (Kootenay-Columbia (BC)) Contribution Limits: –2015: $1, –2016: $1, Candidates final reimbursement – 60% 1,800 candidate files to audit 9

CFO Challenges Dealing with uncertainty Decentralization Scale of operations Temporary workforce Time and program pressures Social Media Accounting for cost increases in dynamic environment 10

My CFO Tool-Kit Be value and principle-driven – rules change, values remain constant Focus first on adding and generating value Manage risks rather then eliminate innovation Be creative: how can both objectives and stewardship be achieved? Be strategic … my definition Thank you! 11