Libertarian Party of Canada Deregistered for Failing to File Election Audit
The Libertarian Party of Canada is set to be deregistered at the end of this month after failing to file a mandatory auditor's report related to last year's federal election, Elections Canada announced.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has informed the party's leader that it will be deregistered effective March 31, 2026, for not complying with the reporting requirements set out in the Canada Elections Act.
The party failed to submit an auditor's report related to the 2025 federal election. The report is a mandatory post-election filing for all registered parties to detail their financial transactions.
Once the deregistration takes effect, the Libertarian Party will lose all benefits of a registered party under the Act. This includes the ability to issue official tax receipts for contributions and the right to use paid broadcasting time allocated to registered parties during election campaigns.
The party's removal from the registry marks a significant administrative blow, though it does not prevent its candidates from running under the Libertarian banner in future elections. They would simply do so as "independent" candidates affiliated with a non-registered party, unless the party is reinstated.
Elections Canada, the independent, non-partisan agency that oversees federal elections, confirmed the decision in a brief press release Tuesday. A notice of the deregistration will be published in the Canada Gazette, the official government newspaper.
Performance In Recent By-Election
The party's most high-profile recent electoral performance came in a federal by-election held last summer. In the Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, held on August 18, 2025, Libertarian candidate Michael Harris was one of a record 213 names on the ballot.
Harris finished in eighth place with 103 votes, or 0.2% of all valid ballots cast. The race was overwhelmingly won by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who took more than 80% of the vote.
While the party's vote share in that contest was minimal, the by-election's ballot was uniquely crowded with dozens of fringe and independent candidates, many of whom received fewer than ten votes. Harris's performance placed him just behind the Green Party candidate and ahead of the candidate for the Christian Heritage Party.
The party has not yet issued a public statement regarding the deregistration or indicated whether it plans to take steps to rectify the filing omission and potentially appeal the decision.
