How much should third parties be allowed to spend on political ads?

Watch: A debate between Unifor president Jerry Dias and the National Citizens Coalition’s Peter Coleman on third-party advertising before and during an election campaign.

Organized labour in this country spent millions of dollars last year trying to influence the outcome of the Ontario election, with some observers saying the third party-funded commercials had a significant effect on the election’s outcome.

As Canadians await the writ drop on the national landscape, some observers are wondering how much outside money will influence the upcoming campaign, and whether there should be controls on the amount third parties can spend.

Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars during last year’s provincial campaign, said union president Jerry Dias. And even though the writ drop could be weeks away, he said they haven’t held discussions yet about the amount they intend to spend on the national level — despite what some anti-union groups have suggested.

“Arguments that someone in the labour movement’s going to spend $40 or $50 million, that’s just sheer nonsense,” Dias said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. “Are we going to participate? The answer is yes. It’ll be limited to what our members frankly would expect us to [spend].”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Arguments that someone in the labour movement's going to spend $40 or $50 million, that's just sheer nonsense," Dias said in an interview on <a href="www.thewestblock.ca" target="_blank">The West Block with Tom Clark</a>. "Are we going to participate? The answer is yes. It'll be limited to what our members frankly would expect us to [spend]."

As it stands, advertising spending is split into two time periods: pre- and post-writ drop. Before an election is called, spending limits are rather free. Once the writ drops, however, limits are imposed on the amount an outside party can spend on national and riding levels.

Beyond limiting spending to what the union members want, Dias said there have to be federally regulated limits to what a third party can spend on political advertising.

“Take a look at the United States. Money should not determine politics,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Take a look at the United States. Money should not determine politics," he said.

On the other side of the coin, however, is Peter Coleman, president of the conservative activist group, National Citizens Coalition — who argued it’s “hypocritical” for either Liberals or Conservatives to fight for spending limits.

“I think the reality is people only want spending limits when their party’s in power because they don’t want other parties going at them, taking runs at them,” he said. They want limits when it benefits them, they don’t want limits when it doesn’t. But we say there should be no limits at all.”