Public unions and labour groups were the largest spenders in the year preceding last spring’s Alberta election, according to the latest annual report from the Chief Electoral Officer.Third party advertisers of all stripes spent about $3.5 million in 2022, including $2.98 million from so-called ‘political third party advertisers’ (PTPA) — which are only allowed to spend outside election periods.Of ‘election third party advertisers’ (EPTA) — which can advertise anytime they want — 73% of approximately $438,000 of contributions came from trade unions. The vast majority, $320,000 came from the Alberta Federation of Labour while the balance of $116,958 was attributed to the National Police Federation. .Of that amount raised, $153,000 was spent in 2022 with the balances presumably carried over into the 2023 campaign. By contrast, the PTPAs — which were dominated by the AFL, the Canadian Union of Public Employees — spent about $3.17 million.But it was the Health Sciences Association of Alberta that came in as the biggest spender, at $1.5 million.Another wrinkle is that ETPAs can transfer funds to PTPAs, but not vice-versa. Those amounted to about $152,500. .In all, third parties have spent close to $16 million since 2015, with more than two thirds coming from unions. Corporations accounted for 20% compared to 22% for individuals.It’s the first annual report since the Election Act was revamped in March of last year. Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly responsible for administering elections, by-elections and referenda.Violations — if any — are reported to a separate compliance and enforcement unit.Although the data is granular, it offers an interesting glimpse into the workings of the political system in Alberta. In all, a dozen political parties and leadership candidates, 493 constituency associations and 43 third party advertisers raised about $27.2 million in 2022 and spent $24.9 million. The report notes that some of that will be carried into 2023. Financial reports by participants in the May election won’t be released until 2024.The other notable political event of 2022 was the UCP leadership race, which collectively raised more than $3.8 million on top of the $12.3 million reported by all parties in the year.Danielle Smith raised about $1.4 million compared to $1.2 million for Travis Toews..Since 2015 — when direct corporate and union contributions were prohibited — parties raised $74 million, roughly split between the NDP, the UCP and its Wildrose and PC predecessors.At the end of 2022, the NDP had about $5.5 million on hand compared to $2.9 million for the UCP.In all, individuals claimed a record $5.76 million in tax credits in 2022 compared to $5.36 million in 2019.
Public unions and labour groups were the largest spenders in the year preceding last spring’s Alberta election, according to the latest annual report from the Chief Electoral Officer.Third party advertisers of all stripes spent about $3.5 million in 2022, including $2.98 million from so-called ‘political third party advertisers’ (PTPA) — which are only allowed to spend outside election periods.Of ‘election third party advertisers’ (EPTA) — which can advertise anytime they want — 73% of approximately $438,000 of contributions came from trade unions. The vast majority, $320,000 came from the Alberta Federation of Labour while the balance of $116,958 was attributed to the National Police Federation. .Of that amount raised, $153,000 was spent in 2022 with the balances presumably carried over into the 2023 campaign. By contrast, the PTPAs — which were dominated by the AFL, the Canadian Union of Public Employees — spent about $3.17 million.But it was the Health Sciences Association of Alberta that came in as the biggest spender, at $1.5 million.Another wrinkle is that ETPAs can transfer funds to PTPAs, but not vice-versa. Those amounted to about $152,500. .In all, third parties have spent close to $16 million since 2015, with more than two thirds coming from unions. Corporations accounted for 20% compared to 22% for individuals.It’s the first annual report since the Election Act was revamped in March of last year. Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly responsible for administering elections, by-elections and referenda.Violations — if any — are reported to a separate compliance and enforcement unit.Although the data is granular, it offers an interesting glimpse into the workings of the political system in Alberta. In all, a dozen political parties and leadership candidates, 493 constituency associations and 43 third party advertisers raised about $27.2 million in 2022 and spent $24.9 million. The report notes that some of that will be carried into 2023. Financial reports by participants in the May election won’t be released until 2024.The other notable political event of 2022 was the UCP leadership race, which collectively raised more than $3.8 million on top of the $12.3 million reported by all parties in the year.Danielle Smith raised about $1.4 million compared to $1.2 million for Travis Toews..Since 2015 — when direct corporate and union contributions were prohibited — parties raised $74 million, roughly split between the NDP, the UCP and its Wildrose and PC predecessors.At the end of 2022, the NDP had about $5.5 million on hand compared to $2.9 million for the UCP.In all, individuals claimed a record $5.76 million in tax credits in 2022 compared to $5.36 million in 2019.
