Conservatives Crush Liberals In Fundraising Battle

Top opposition party earns more money from more people, far outpacing everyone else.

The latest fundraising numbers show the Conservatives crushing the Liberals.

The Conservatives earned more money, had more more donors, and have more cash on hand.

Here are the key numbers:

Conservatives – $24.2 million

Liberals – $15.9 million

Greens – $3.1 million

*The NDP received an extension, and will be reporting numbers later.

While the Conservatives spent more money on fundraising efforts than the Liberals ($8.5 million vs $3.4 million), the Liberals added to their numbers by relying on loans of $1.34 million, and transferred money from local ridings to the central party, artificially boosting the numbers.

The Conservatives did not have to rely on loans.

One of the most important numbers is how much a party actually has in cash on hand, and the Conservatives dominate there as well. The Conservatives have just under $10 million on hand, while the Liberals have just $2.27 million.

Liberals rigging the system against Conservatives

Notably, the Liberals have been using the power of government to rig the system against the Conservatives to blunt the advantage the Conservatives have in fundraising. Restrictions on search engine advertising, restrictions on social media advertising, and tighter restrictions on pre-election ads by parties all represent a move by the Liberals to make it harder for Conservatives to run ads and reach Canadians.

At the same time, the Liberals are giving $600 million to the establishment press, in an effort to co-opt and bias the coverage in their favour.

So, while the Conservatives have a strong fundraising advantage, they still face brutal headwinds from the Liberals corrupt use of government power.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – Twitter