Manitoba Government Introduces Bill to Combat Election Disinformation and Deepfakes

The Manitoba government recently introduced legislation aimed at addressing the growing concern around disinformation during elections. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe explained that this bill aims to modernize and enhance existing laws related to election integrity.

This proposed law comes partly as a response to recommendations made previously by Manitoba's Chief Electoral Officer, Shipra Verma. In her earlier report, Verma suggested expanding the scope of the Elections Act, which already prohibits spreading false information concerning candidates and impersonating election officials. Currently, violations of these rules could mean a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment of up to one year. Verma's recommendations urged the government also to ban objectively false claims about electoral processes, election officials, or voting equipment.

The bill, presented by the NDP government, would make it illegal to distribute intentionally misleading information leading up to an election. Specifically prohibited would be misinformation concerning voter eligibility, the conduct of election staff, ballot-handlers, and voting or counting equipment.

if misleading information is detected, the elections commissioner could issue a "stop notice." In most instances, the accused would have only 24 hours to comply. A refusal could result in penalties of up to $20,000 per day.

Minister Wiebe emphasized that the bill carefully differentiates between unintentionally incorrect information and deliberate falsehoods intended to mislead voters. He noted that offenses specified in the bill involve knowingly sharing false information or recklessly disregarding whether the claims are true or false.

Additionally, another aspect of the bill addresses issues surrounding political advertising. Recognizing concerns from the previous election, political parties would now be required to establish publicly available codes of ethics related to their advertisements, including transparent complaint-handling processes. This measure responds directly to controversy surrounding Progressive Conservative ads in the 2023 election, specifically a campaign referencing the government's refusal to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of murder victims due to safety concerns—a decision which attracted criticism even from within their party. Minister Wiebe described these ads as "deeply harmful" and vowed the bill would improve accountability and transparency in political advertising.

Finally, the bill proposes practical changes to enhance voting accessibility. It seeks to extend the number of days designated for advanced polling, and would allow voters to cast their election-day ballots at any returning office across Manitoba.