The Canada Elections Act permits the collection of anonymous contributions of $20 or less in response to a general solicitation at a meeting or fundraising event related to the affairs of a registered party or EDA. This type of contribution is commonly known as a “pass the hat” or “contribution plate” donation.

Where anonymous contributions are collected during an event, the person authorized to accept those contributions must record the following:

• a description of the function at which the contributions were collected;
• the date of the function;
• the approximate number of people at the function; and
• the total amount of anonymous contributions accepted

Measures must be taken to ensure that contributions are not received from ineligible contributors, and that anonymous contributions do not put an individual contributor in the position of exceeding the annual contribution limit to a registered party or EDA.

When a “pass the hat” occurs, the following reminders should be given:

• Only citizens or permanent residents of Canada may make a contribution to a political party
• In participating, the contributor must not exceed the annual contribution limit ($1700 to a political party, and $1700 to the EDA in the 2023 calendar year)

To learn more about administering contributions, including pass-the-hat contributions, please visit this page.