Sarah Silverman endorses Tom Mulcair and NDP candidate in Vancouver

Pamela Anderson, Wayne Gretzky, Donald Sutherlandand now another major celebrity has wadedinto the Canadian election campaign by endorsing both a partyand a candidate.

The difference this time, though, is that the endorsement comes from anAmerican.

ComedianSarah Silvermantweeted her support for the NDP LeaderTom Mulcair and Mira Oreck, a candidate in the B.C. riding ofVancouver-Granville,on Sunday. Oreck said she was"thrilled" by the endorsement.

Thecelebrity made reference tothe NDP's stance on religious freedom amidtheniqabdebate in her tweet.

Mulcair thanked her forthe endorsement in his own tweet.

Oreck says she met Silvermanin 2012, when she was in New York producinga video against voter identity lawsinthe lead-up to the U.S. presidential election, that starred Silverman. The two have kept in touch since then.

The endorsement on Twitter, though, was somewhatunexpected.

"Occasionally, I send her things on the election sent her something last night and off she went.I woke this morning to a tweet from her," said Oreck, whoemailedSilvermanconcerns she had receivedfromvotersregarding their religious freedom.

She hopes the celebrity'sprominencewill catch the attention of voters. Thetweet was sent out at 6:20 a.m. PT, andby the afternoon, it had beenretweetedmore than800 times.

Oreck is in a race against two otherfirst-time candidates in the new riding ofVancouver-Granville: LiberalJody Wilson-Raybould and ConservativeErinn Broshko.

While Wilson-Raybould hasn't been backed byany American celebrities, she is endorsed by former prime minister Paul Martin and famed environmentalist David Suzuki.

Conservative candidate Broshko does not list endorsements on his website.

Illegalendorsement?

Silverman's tweet seems innocent enough, but it could possibly be illegal.

Foreigners arenot allowed to encourageelectorsto vote for a particular candidate during an election period.

Section 331 of thethe Canada Elections Act states:

"Noperson who does not reside in Canada shall, during an election period, in any way induce electors to vote or refrain from voting or vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate."

The only exemptions areCanadian citizens and permanent residents.

The rule is not usually enforced, andOrecksaid Silverman chose to send thetweet herself.

"I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think this is illegal. She's entitled to her view, entitled to tweet what she wants," Oreck said.

In 2008, the Conservatives complainedwhen Michael Moore was seen to be endorsing an NDP candidateduring an election campaign. The NDP responded by saying Moorewas only there to capturevideo for a documentary.