P.E.I. PC party agent facing 42 charges related to donations

After Elections P.E.I. referred an investigation to the RCMP, the police say an official agent for the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative Party is facing 42 charges.

In an Oct. 23 news release, the RCMP said the charges were under the Election Expenses Act and centred around donations made to the party in 2025.

The RCMP alleged the donations were made in contravention of the Election Expenses Act or not reported in accordance with the act.

Gavin Moore, the media relations officer of the P.E.I. RCMP, did not name the individual who has been charged, but confirmed it was the party’s official agent.

Moore identified six sections of the Election Expenses Act to which the 42 charges relate.

These included Section 11(2), which requires an official agent issue receipts for contributions of $25 or more, 15(3)(b), which requires a party’s official agent to provide and deal with proper receipts for contributions, and 11(4), which deals with unauthorized contributions.

Other sections in which charges were laid include Section 20(2), 16(1)(a) and Section 27.

“Some of them include failing to file records of contributions, accepting contributions in excess of the act, failing to issue receipts, knowingly allowing contribution in excess of the act …, knowingly making false statement in a contributions report and allowing individuals to make contributions who are not permitted,” Moore said, in explanation of the charges.

Earlier this month, The Guardian reported Elections P.E.I. had forwarded the results of an internal audit on PC party donations to the RCMP.

While lists of donors to the province’s other political parties for 2025 were available on Elections P.E.I.’s website, that information was not there for the PCs.

Instead, the website had a note saying “under further investigation, the contributions will be posted as soon as possible.”

When asked about the issue on Oct. 6, Premier Rob Lantz said “there were like six or seven” donations flagged and he believed it was “just an administrative error.”

Lantz also told The Guardian at the time that the party conducted its own internal audit of the donations for 2025, but it did not catch the issues before they were flagged by Elections P.E.I.

In the news release, the RCMP said the charges are summary offences that could carry a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine for each offence.

The accused is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Charlottetown on Oct. 29.

More to come.