Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe has returned $27,000 in donations from five donors under the age of 18 whose fathers are current and former executives with drug companies.

Joe Volpe is seeking to become the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

The donors included the 11-year-old twins and 14-year-old son of former Apotex Inc. vice-president Allen Shechtman.

Volpe's spokesman Corey Hobbs said no rules were broken, and returning the money is simply a way to avoid misperceptions.

"Let's be clear here," Hobbs said. "All the donations for our campaign have been in compliance with the law."

The federal Elections Act specifies that companies cannot make donations to leadership campaigns, and sets a limit of $5,400 for donations from individuals.

There is no age limit for donors. But the Elections Act makes it an offence to make a donation that actually comes from another person or to act "in collusion" with others to get around the act's limitations.

NDP member of Parliament Pat Martin filed an official complaint about the donations on Monday, asking elections commissioner Raymond Landry to investigate whether an attempt had been made to circumvent the Elections Act.

Volpe, a member of Parliament from Toronto, is one of 11 candidates in the race to succeed former prime minister Paul Martin.

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