Tories hit another fundraising record
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 2, 2009
Source: Tories hit another fundraising record
OTTAWA - The governing Conservatives raised a record $21.2 million in donations in 2008, while the opposition Liberals made modest progress in their efforts to rebuild their fundraising machine, newly released figures from Elections Canada show.
The Conservatives easily beat the other political parties with their annual fundraising total, which also surpassed the $17 million the party raised in 2007. The party’s previous record for annual donations was $18.7 million in 2006, according to figures compiled by punditsguide.ca - a website that tracks Canadian political statistics.
The Liberals raised $5.9 million in 2008, an improvement over the $4.5 million the party managed the year before. A surge in donations in the fourth quarter, when the party garnered $2.3 million, enabled the Liberals to beat the NDP, which was leading the Grits through the third quarter.
The New Democrats raised $5.5 million in 2008, a major increase over their haul of $4 million the previous year. Meanwhile, the Green party broke through the $1-million mark for the first time, raising $1.6 million in 2008.
The Bloc Quebecois raised $713,415 for the year.
Ryan Sparrow, a spokesman for the Conservative Party of Canada, said the results showed that the Tories are the “biggest, broadest and most national of all of the federal parties.”
Conservative sources say contributions received a major boost in November and December from donors opposed to the prospect of a Liberal-NDP coalition. The take from anti-coalition donations easily surpassed the roughly $750,000 the party raised in 2007 after allegations surfaced that a CBC Television reporter had fed questions to a Liberal MP during a committee hearing on the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.
The fact that 2008 was an election year likely also helped pad Conservative coffers, as well as those of the other parties.
However, the Conservatives could be hard pressed to raise the same amount this year. Conservative commentators such as University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan, a former senior aide to Stephen Harper, have predicted that the massive deficits projected in the federal budget could alienate the party’s “small-c” conservative base.
Moreover, the recession is expected to make donors less willing to open their wallets for all parties.
The Liberals were the only major political party to see their donations grow in the fourth quarter, compared with the previous three months.
Rocco Rossi, the party’s national director, attributed some of the growth to the acclamation of new Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who replaced Stephane Dion in December.
“It’s just the beginning,” said Rossi. “I think what you’re seeing in the fourth quarter is renewed and growing energy, excitement about the new leader, and distaste for what Mr. Harper did in the November economic statement.”
The Liberals have had trouble raising funds since January 2007, when new election-financing rules banned corporate donations and limited individual contributions to $1,100 per year. The new rules have hurt the Liberals, who traditionally relied on big corporate donors, and boosted the Conservatives, who have a wide network of grassroots supporters.
Rossi said the Liberals hope to employ some of the online marketing techniques used by the campaign of Barack Obama, including the use of Facebook groups and Twitter feeds.
“There’s no question that we have to step up our game, vis-a-vis databases and the use of the Internet,” he said.
The yearly fundraising totals are based on fourth-quarter party returns unveiled by Elections Canada on Monday.
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 2, 2009
Source: Tories hit another fundraising record
OTTAWA - The governing Conservatives raised a record $21.2 million in donations in 2008, while the opposition Liberals made modest progress in their efforts to rebuild their fundraising machine, newly released figures from Elections Canada show.
The Conservatives easily beat the other political parties with their annual fundraising total, which also surpassed the $17 million the party raised in 2007. The party’s previous record for annual donations was $18.7 million in 2006, according to figures compiled by punditsguide.ca - a website that tracks Canadian political statistics.
The Liberals raised $5.9 million in 2008, an improvement over the $4.5 million the party managed the year before. A surge in donations in the fourth quarter, when the party garnered $2.3 million, enabled the Liberals to beat the NDP, which was leading the Grits through the third quarter.
The New Democrats raised $5.5 million in 2008, a major increase over their haul of $4 million the previous year. Meanwhile, the Green party broke through the $1-million mark for the first time, raising $1.6 million in 2008.
The Bloc Quebecois raised $713,415 for the year.
Ryan Sparrow, a spokesman for the Conservative Party of Canada, said the results showed that the Tories are the “biggest, broadest and most national of all of the federal parties.”
Conservative sources say contributions received a major boost in November and December from donors opposed to the prospect of a Liberal-NDP coalition. The take from anti-coalition donations easily surpassed the roughly $750,000 the party raised in 2007 after allegations surfaced that a CBC Television reporter had fed questions to a Liberal MP during a committee hearing on the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.
The fact that 2008 was an election year likely also helped pad Conservative coffers, as well as those of the other parties.
However, the Conservatives could be hard pressed to raise the same amount this year. Conservative commentators such as University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan, a former senior aide to Stephen Harper, have predicted that the massive deficits projected in the federal budget could alienate the party’s “small-c” conservative base.
Moreover, the recession is expected to make donors less willing to open their wallets for all parties.
The Liberals were the only major political party to see their donations grow in the fourth quarter, compared with the previous three months.
Rocco Rossi, the party’s national director, attributed some of the growth to the acclamation of new Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who replaced Stephane Dion in December.
“It’s just the beginning,” said Rossi. “I think what you’re seeing in the fourth quarter is renewed and growing energy, excitement about the new leader, and distaste for what Mr. Harper did in the November economic statement.”
The Liberals have had trouble raising funds since January 2007, when new election-financing rules banned corporate donations and limited individual contributions to $1,100 per year. The new rules have hurt the Liberals, who traditionally relied on big corporate donors, and boosted the Conservatives, who have a wide network of grassroots supporters.
Rossi said the Liberals hope to employ some of the online marketing techniques used by the campaign of Barack Obama, including the use of Facebook groups and Twitter feeds.
“There’s no question that we have to step up our game, vis-a-vis databases and the use of the Internet,” he said.
The yearly fundraising totals are based on fourth-quarter party returns unveiled by Elections Canada on Monday.
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