Conservative 'fundraising juggernaut' stampedes into summer donations

Conservatives led the way in fundraising in the first quarter of 2022, but the Liberals say they are counting on the busy summer months to gain ground. The Conservatives collected more than $5.02-million through fundraising in the first quarter of 2022, surpassing the $3.4-million raised by the Liberals and the $1.37-million collected by NDP. The Bloc Québécois raised approximately $551,487 in the first quarter of 2022, and the Green Party of Canada raised approximately $429,760. The Conservatives also raised the most money overall of any federal party in 2021 and over $4-million more than the $22.3-million they raised in 2020, finishing the year with more than $26.8-million in donations. To compare, the Liberals concluded 2021 with more than $18.9-million in donations, just under $3-million more than the $15.7-million the year before, and followed by the NDP with a $3-millon increase from $6.1-million in 2020, to $9.1-million. However, with the exception of the NDP and Bloc Québécois who raised $8-million and $2-million respectively, none of the parties raised more than they did in 2019. The Conservatives are still short by about $4.1-million this year to match their 2019 total of $30.9-million, with the Liberals slightly closer, less than $3-million short of their $21.3-million total fundraising in 2019. The Green Party saw the largest drop in fundraising between 2019 and 2021, dropping from $9-million to $3.7-million in 2020, and $3.5-million in 2021. “Driven by strong fundraising efforts in the lead-up and through the election campaign, it was grassroots supporters who helped propel Justin Trudeau and our Liberal team to a third consecutive mandate. The generosity of our supporters is what helps us achieve such strong fundraising totals year after year,” said Suzanne Cowan, president of the Liberal Party of Canada, in an emailed statement to The Hill Times on July 13. “As we move into the summer months, enthusiasm continues to build for Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party in communities across Canada, with supporters safely gathering to attend events and celebrate the progress we’re making together to build a better Canada.” As an example, Cowan cited the Calgary Stampede, the annual rodeo held this year between July 8 and July 17. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) visited the Stampede grounds on July 10 for a breakfast hosted by Liberal MP George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Alta.). Trudeau later appeared at a fundraising event in Calgary where he spoke with Liberal Party members. Not quite kissing babies: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, pictured on July 10, 2022, mingling with the Calgary Stampede crowd. Photograph courtesy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Twitter Conservative leadership candidates also attended the Calgary Stampede for a barbecue fundraising event on July 9, attracting nearly 1,400 supporters shelling out $165 a ticket. Leadership candidates Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.), Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk, Ont.), Jean Charest and Roman Baber also attended and gave short speeches. Conservative MP and leadership candidate Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) was a last-minute cancellation. 2022 Fundraising Q1 Contributors Green Party of Canada $429,760.73 5,323 Bloc Québécois $551,487.61 1,924 New Democratic Party of Canada $1,374,170.66 18,280 Liberal Party of Canada $3,482,910.12 3,0158 Conservative Party of Canada $5,029,563.35 3,1152 According to their annual financial statements, excluding the New Democrats who have still not submitted theirs to Canada Elections, the federal parties also took out over $59-million in loans. The Liberal Party took out the largest loan at $30-million, followed by the Conservatives receiving $29-million and the Green Party with a $750,000 loan. Annual Financial Returns 2021 Donations Transfers Loans Total Total Contributions - loans Bloc Québécois $2,067,513.18 $74,297.89 $ - $2,141,811.07 $2,141,811.07 Green Party of Canada $3,545,528.01 $16,105.14 $750,000.00 $4,311,633.15 $3,561,633.15 Liberal Party of Canada $18,100,388.57 $345,115.69 $30,000,000.00 $48,445,504.26 $18,445,504.26 Conservative Party of Canada $26,708,622.67 $54,476.76 $29,000,000.00 $55,763,099.43 $26,763,099.43 New Democratic Party of Canada N/A N/A N/A N/A $ - “The median donation was just $15, with 96 per cent of all donations under $200—another testament to our movement’s grassroots support,” said Cowan in the email. According to Cowan, Liberal supporters across Canada stepped up to help make 2021 one of the party’s strongest years for grassroots fundraising, with the best quarterly fundraising results in the party’s history in the third quarter of the year, and a fourth quarter that out-fundraised the Conservatives and all other parties. Conservative Party President Rob Batherson said his party’s success in fundraising can be attributed to its “large and dedicated group of donors from coast to coast to coast,” in an emailed statement to The Hill Times on July 12. "We have a strong foundation with Canadian voters, having won the popular vote in the 2019 and 2021 general elections,” said Batherson in the email. The Hill Times asked Batherson for any insight into why the Conservative Party seemed to have a strong fundraising year in 2021, despite the party being on the brink of ousting its then-leader. Conservative MP Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ont.) was voted out as party leader on Feb. 2, 2022. Batherson did not directly address the question, but said that the Conservative Party is building support that will help its next leader. "With Canadians joining the Conservative Party of Canada in record numbers, with 675,000 paid-up members eligible to vote in the upcoming leadership election, we also have a significantly larger number of potential financial supporters to contact in future years. This will give our next leader considerable momentum to invite more Canadians to make a donation to the Conservative Party of Canada,” said Batherson in the email. "As Canadians in larger numbers look to replace the tired, corrupt and costly Justin Trudeau government that's propped up by Jagmeet Singh's weak NDP, Canada's Conservatives will be inviting more people than ever before to invest in change." Fertile ground: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, top left, Conservative MP and his party's leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre alongside Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, bottom left, Conservative MP Pat Kelly next to a Stampede volunteer, and interim Conservative Party leader Candice Bergen. The Calgary Stampede was also fertile ground for political fundraising. Photographs courtesy of Twitter Lorraine Rekmans, president of the Green Party of Canada (GPC), told The Hill Times in an emailed statement on July 12 that the best way to raise funds is to demonstrate what her party has offered in terms of policy and action, especially related to climate change and reducing carbon emissions. The Green Party will hold a leadership election on Nov. 19 to elect a new leader to replace Annamie Paul. A leadership race is typically a huge opportunity to connect with donors, but the GPC has no plans to press supporters for donations this year, according to Rekmans. “We expect the leadership race will generate excitement amongst our membership and encourage new people to join over the summer. The last quarter of the year is usually the best time to raise funds,” said Rekmans in the emailed statement. “The leadership challenges within the GPC in 2021 have resulted in much negative press coverage and while we are rebuilding, we have decided to pause from pressing our supporters for resources until we finish getting our house in order. We are starting with a transformational leadership contest, along with internal right-sizing to get ready for the next election, whenever the government decides to spring one on us.” Conservative ‘fundraising juggernaut’ fuelled by antipathy toward Trudeau, precariousness of minority government, says Hughes With the combination of a minority government, a Trudeau in the Prime Minister’s Office, and a leadership contest signing up hundreds of thousands of new members, Elliot Hughes, a senior adviser for Summa Strategies and former Liberal staffer in the finance and defence ministers’ offices, said he expects to see the Conservatives continue to post even stronger fundraising numbers for the next few quarters. Elliot Hughes, a senior adviser for Summa Strategies said he expects to see the Conservatives continue to post even stronger fundraising numbers so long as they have a minority Trudeau government to get their donors motivated. Photo courtesy of Elliot Hughes “Let's face it, the Conservatives have always been a fundraising juggernaut,” Hughes said, explaining that the Tories tend to have better success activating their members by tapping into more powerful negative emotions like fear and anger to elicit a greater response. “I think there's a sense within the Conservative Party that there's a lot to be worried about, or to fear in the government and in, specifically, Justin Trudeau,” Hughes added. “And there’s definitely a lot for them to get angry about.” Hughes also said that the Conservatives can also benefit from the leadership election by improving their fundraising efforts not only by increasing their donor base, but by also using it to test out a variety of different messaging styles and language in order to focus on the issues that drive fundraising the best. “Essentially, they’re able to do some pre-testing before the actual action starts to see what really elicits those emotions before the next election,” Hughes explained. “That's what I would suspect they're doing at this point.” In contrast, Hughes said the Liberals tend towards a more “positive” message in their fundraising, touting their record and “softer issues” that don’t tend to “get the blood percolating” as the Conservatives’ issues do. Despite this, the Liberals still raised a record amount of money in 2021, thanks in part to the election campaign, which Hughes said showed that while it may not be the same level of consistent engagement as the Conservatives, the Liberals can still bring in the money when they need to. Once the Conservatives choose a new leader in September, Hughes said he expects the Liberals to ramp up their fundraising efforts as well, but will keep some strategies in their back pocket for when the time is right and they need money for an election. “They may consider trying to do a big first strike and sort of coming out guns blazing to draw a line in the sand,” Hughes explained. “But I think it's yet to be determined on that. And I think the party will want to wait and see just where things are in August and early September before making a decision on that.” NDP undercut their most effective fundraising tool with supply and-confidence-agreement: Holmstrom Cam Holmstrom, a staffer for former federal NDP leaders Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair and founder and principal of Niipaawi Strategies, agreed that the Conservatives are incredibly effective at identifying those single issues that get the money pouring in, including getting rid of the long-gun registry and the carbon tax, and of course, getting rid of Justin Trudeau. The latter, Holmstrom said, could also explain much of the chatter in Conservative circles that the Liberals intend to call a snap election once the former’s leadership election is over. Cam Holmstrom, a former NDP staffer and principal of Niipaawi Strategies, is concerned that the Supply-and-Confidence agreement the NDP have with the Liberals has undercut their ability to fundraise off of the threat of an impending election. The Hill Time photograph “There's not a snowball's chance in hell it's going to happen,” Holmstrom said. “ut they figure they know which buttons to push with their donors and they have no compunction about pushing them.” Holmstrom also commended the Conservatives system for distributing extra fundraising money between the party and its riding associations. “For example, Jason Kenney’s old riding, Calgary Midnapore, used to have so much money that they would literally send tens of thousands of dollars other ridings around the country help fund their campaigns,” Holmstrom said, explaining that at this point the Conservatives could probably afford to run an entire campaign just on the money they have in the bank. “They could take a break, but they’re not,” Holmstrom added. “nd with a minority government and a Trudeau in the Prime Minister’s office, there are all kinds of buttons for them to smash right now and no reason for them to let up.” During a minority parliament, there is very little reason for political parties to ease up on their fundraising efforts, Holmstrom explained, as, in theory, an election could happen at any time. Unfortunately, the NDP may have undercut that pressure on their donors and, by extension, their ability to fundraise due to the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals. “They’ve given up the ability to build a stronger hand to fundraise off of,” Holmstrom explained. “They’ve taken away the most effective tool they had, which is the chance of an election just around the corner.” While the agreement may have taken the specter of an election off the table, the NDP can still go to their donors with results to make their appeals for donations. “They can say they’ve made progress on dental care and pharmacare,” Holmstrom explained. “They’re able to actually put things in the window that these people who are giving money have wanted, so it cuts both ways.” The Hill Times

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Conservative ‘fundraising juggernaut’ stampedes into summer donations

While the Liberals may wait until after the Conservatives choose a new leader to make any large fundraising pushes, the New Democrats may have already undercut their most effective strategy for fundraising: a looming snap election.

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