Elections BC deregisters Progress Vancouver, investigation launched into party's finances

Eight candidates who ran for Vancouver City Council last year have been disqualified from the next race after the party that endorsed them failed to meet financial disclosure requirements outlined by the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act.

Elections BC revealed in a statement Tuesday that Progress Vancouver has been deregistered as an elector organization, and an investigation has been launched into the party’s finances.

Mark Marissen, the ex-husband of former B.C. premier Christy Clark, was the party’s candidate for mayor and earned three per cent of the total votes.

He joins Mauro Francis, Marie Noelle Rosa, Morgane Oger, May He, David Chin, Asha Hayer and Jonah Gonzales on the list of candidates barred from running in local elections until after the next general one in 2026.

According to Elections BC, six of eight candidates with Progress Vancouver failed to meet the first deadline to file their financing reports on Jan. 13.

All endorsed candidates filed their reports late the following month, but the one submitted by Progress Vancouver did not meet the LECFA’s requirements, Elections BC says.

“The report did not provide information about the organization’s campaign finances, including campaign contribution details and campaign-period expenses attributed to specific candidates,” the agency said in a statement.

However, Elections BC says the party’s report did include “several apparent violations of campaign financing rules.”

These included a non-permissible loan of $50,000 and campaign contributions that came from outside of the province and exceeded the annual limit, according to the statement.

In response to the Elections BC ruling, Marissen issued his own statement Tuesday.

He says Progress Vancouver solicited the loan in order to pay for the day-to-day operations of its office “on a continuing basis, regardless of election campaign period.”

According to Marissen, legal counsel did not inform the party of a recent amendment that came into effect on Dec. 1, 2021, which “it now understands had the effect of deeming all loans to an elector organization to be loans for election expenses,” and therefore subject to limitations on funds received from non-financial institutions.

However, he says Progress Vancouver didn’t understand that until after it had used the money to pay for year-round operations of its office.

“Progress Vancouver has been working to raise money to repay this loan and any other obligations,” Marissen wrote, adding the party is co-operating with Elections BC’s investigation.

He also says Progress Vancouver did its best to address issues with some of the out-of-province donations it received, as well as those with missing contributors data, by the report deadlines.

“I would like to thank all of our candidates who ran under the Progress Vancouver banner,” wrote Marissen. “None of them had anything to do with causing these issues. I am very grateful for their support and their contribution to our democracy.”

Elections BC says it will provide an update on the outcome of its investigation once it concludes.