To be a candidate for election to the House of Commons, a person must be a Canadian citizen who is 18 years of age or older. Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives every Canadian the right to be qualified for membership in the federal House of Commons, or in a provincial legislature. To file nomination papers requires the signatures of 100 other qualified voters. The nominee must also provide a $1000 deposit to the returning office of the riding. Up to half of the deposit is refunded if the candidate submits an accounting of their election expenses within a certain time limit, and the remaining half is returned if the candidate gets at least 15% of the ballots cast in his or her electoral district. All unrefunded deposits go to the Crown.
