Other Political Activities

Non-Candidacy Political Activities

Thinking of supporting or opposing a political candidate or party by engaging in a political activity such as :

• volunteering or fundraising for a candidate or a political party;
• displaying political material such as a picture, sticker or button or placing a sign on the lawn in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate or a political party;
• attending events, meetings, conventions or other political gatherings in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate or a political party;
• developing promotional material such as campaign speeches, slogans and pamphlets for a candidate or a political party;
• using blogs, social networking sites or a personal website or video sharing to express personal views in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate or a political party.

Employees’ right to engage in political activities at the federal, provincial, territorial or municipal level is recognized in the Public Service Employment Act, states that “An employee may engage in any political activity so long as it does not impair, or is not perceived as impairing, the employee’s ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.”

Employees do not need permission from the Public Service Commission to engage in non-candidacy political activities. However, this right must be balanced with your responsibility to maintain the political impartiality of the public service.

Make an informed decision!

1. Consider:

• The nature of your duties

  The type of decision-making authority they have (recommendations, approval or monitoring of contracts for goods and services, subsidies, grants or contributions, involvement in policy development, managerial or supervisory responsibilities);
  The nature and the extent of their contact with elected officials, residents, businesses or the media located within their municipality or electoral district;
  Their influence or direct interaction with Ministers and/or their staff.

• The level and visibility of your position

  Their level in the hierarchy, as a higher-level position could potentially denote more influence on decision-making within the organization; therefore engaging in political activities could impair or be perceived as impairing their ability to perform their public service duties in a politically impartial manner;
  The visibility of their current position, e.g. wearing a uniform or other forms of government identification, using an identified government-owned vehicle, giving work-related media interviews etc., particularly if there are interactions with the public, may result in others associating the person with the position occupied;
• The nature of the political activity

  The level of the political activity (federal, provincial, territorial or municipal);
  The degree of visibility, duration and frequency of the political activity (the extent to which the activity will draw attention to employees and their public service duties);
  The degree of association the political activity has with a candidate or a political party.
• Your personal or professional visibility in your community

  Their personal or professional visibility in the community combined with participating in non-candidacy political activities could affect or be perceived as affecting their ability to perform their public service duties in a politically impartial manner.
  Their visibility within the community, as employees should keep in mind that outside of a large metropolitan area, they may be more visible, regardless of the group and level of the position they occupy;

2. Consult your manager, your designated political activities representative or the Public Service Commission of Canada (cfp.activitespolitiques-politicalactivities.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca)

3. Refer to Political Activities Self-Assessment Tool   

In and of itself, engaging in a political activity may or may not affect or be perceived as affecting employees' ability to perform their public service duties in a politically impartial manner. It is the interplay of all the factors above, including the visibility, duration and frequency of the political activities in which employees wish to engage, that could affect this ability.

Social media and online activities

Social media and online activities provide challenges for employees in ensuring that their ability to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner is not impaired or perceived to be impaired. Social media has expanded the methods available for employees to exercise their right to engage in political activities. Employees should consider that social media with its broad reach, immediacy and permanence, can blur the distinction between their professional and private lives. When engaging in such political activities, employees may wish to consult the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Guideline on Acceptable Network and Device Use

Allegations of improper political activities

Anyone may make an allegation of improper political activity against an employee. The PSC may investigate any allegation that an employee may have engaged in an improper political activity. If the investigation establishes that there was an improper political activity, the PSC may take any corrective action deemed appropriate.

For more information, employees may visit the Political Activities Investigations Web page which includes the Framework for Investigations of Improper Political Activities.