My understanding is that the exemption only applies to people who have given money previously. That in itself adds to the complication. My position on this is that there's no evidence this needs to be exempted from the Election Expenses Act. In the 1970s, after the initial act was adopted, the parties got together informally—it wasn't an amendment to the act—and agreed that research should not be considered an election expense. They agreed that polling was a form of research.
On March 31st, 2014. See this statement in context.