There are lots of new rules governing the 42nd national election, and new regulations governing advertising on Facebook are among them.
Much to the dismay of the Port Moody-Coquitlam campaign of Jessie Adcock, sponsored content promoting Conservative candidate Tim Laidler was allowed on election day, as long as it was written, posted and paid for before the election.
Campaign manager Haley Hodgson said the Conservatives took a very wide interpretation of the Elections Act that prohibits people from "knowingly" transmitting election advertising on polling day.
Hodgson said she already made a complaint with the Commissioner of Canada Elections and notified the Liberal Party's legal team.
The local Conservatives, meanwhile, say the Facebook ads are well within their rights.
When contacted, Katerina Anastasiadis, Laidler's campaign manager, said the sponsored ads that appeared on people's Facebook pages on election day were "totally legitimate" because they were created and paid for before polling day.
According to Elections Canada guidelines for the media, the act prohibits most forms of election advertising until the last polls close in all electoral districts.
But guidelines say election advertising posted on the Internet before election day "does not need to be withdrawn, but it cannot be amended once the blackout period has begun."
Any free promotion of candidates or political parties is also allowed on social media as long as it's free.
"We can't regulate that," explained Dorothy Sitek, media contact for Elections Canada.
