Federal Political Party Fundraising

OTTAWA – The Federal Conservative Party raked in the cash during the third quarter but there are signs that the Liberals are starting to regain some of their old fundraising numbers.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, announced today that the registered parties’ fourth quarter financial returns for 2013 are now available on the Elections Canada website.

There are several interesting points in the 4th Quarter Report.

Conservatives Top Donations

First the Conservative Party has reaped a bounty of donations. The Conservatives brought in $5.36 million dollars in the quarter. This is ahead of the Liberals who brought in $4.68 million. The New Democrats generated $3.69 million in donations.

The Liberal Party however had more donors than the other parties. There were 44,228 donors who helped the Liberals make their total. The Conservatives raised more money, but from fewer donors.

There were 36,795 Conservative donors. That shift in numbers could be signalling change.

Are Donor Numbers Shifting?

Considering that the Liberals were, for a long time lagging far behind the Conservative in both donation totals and in donor numbers, it is appearing that the ‘Red Machine’ could be making its presence felt with a greater number of ordinary Canadians.

The New Democrats had 27,051 donors. That is traditional for the part.

The move to the Green Party by Thunder Bay Superior North MP might have had an impact for the Greens. The party raised $1.23 million in the quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Greens raised just over $800k.

Of interest as well, the Greens raised that 2012 total from 6,851 donors. That figure climbed to 11,254 contributors in 2013.

Generating small donations from a growing number of people is what used to happen with the Conservative Party, but that was back when the party was called The Reform Party of Canada.

The Conservatives have a very massive war chest sitting in the bank. That may be providing the party with a buffer and with the belief that they can use the funds pre-writ to overcome difficulties.

The chief agent of a registered party that is entitled to a quarterly allowance must submit a quarterly return on the contributions and transfers received by the party to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days of the end of the quarter.

James Murray