Alberta's NDP is calling on all UCP leadership candidates to release the names of their donors..On Monday, UCP candidates Danielle Smith and Travis Toews both informed the media that their campaigns had raised over $1 million dollars each..In total, the Smith campaign raised $1,040,000 in donations through 5,442 donations with an average donation of $191 per person..The Toews campaign raised $1,027,397. Toews did not release how many people donated to his campaign or what the max donation was..As per Elections Alberta rules, the maximum donation to Smith's campaign was $4,300..However, neither candidate released any of the names of those who donated..“This is a test of character for the UCP leadership candidates,” said NDP MLA Irfan Sabir..“Jason Kenney refused to disclose the names of those who donated to his leadership campaign and now the frontrunners to succeed him are following his lead.".Sabir said the UCP candidates should be upfront with Albertans and show who has been financing their campaigns..According to the Alberta NDP, in 2016, during his campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, Kenney established a Political Action Committee to raise funds. Despite initially promising that his donor list would be released, Kenney ultimately refused to disclose the names of his donors..Jason Kenney’s UCP leadership campaign drew $667,000 in donations during his race to be premier. During the same election, one-time Wildrose leader and now UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean had the second-highest amount of donations with $553,015..Jean did not release his numbers yet.."We won't be commenting on fundraising just yet," Team Jean told the Western Standard..Sabir believes Albertans deserve to see exactly who is giving money to the UCP leadership candidates before the next election..“This is particularly true in a race that’s seen leadership candidates attending events with separatist organisations, and other candidates openly soliciting the support of anti-choice groups,” said Sabir..Under the current Elections Alberta timeline, the final disclosures will be due to Elections Alberta four months after the contest..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
