EDMONTON — Supporters of Alberta remaining in Canada strongly outperformed pro-independence donors last week, donating nearly $76,000 to federalist third-party referendum advertisers —more than double what nationalist groups received.Albertans donated over $107,334 to TPAs advertising on either side of Alberta's independence referendum between Sept. 11 and 17, according to financial reports posted on the Elections Alberta website on Friday. The dominant TPA during the week was Stephen Carter's federalist group, "Alberta's Voice," which gathered over half of the combined total, generating over $59,315 and leading the pack for a second consecutive week. Their success continues a spike in federalist donations over recent weeks, raising their overall campaign total to $237,825 and further solidifying themselves as the most funded group advocating for Alberta to remain in Canada. Monte Solberg's "Vote to Stay" TPA also had a strong week, raising $11,650 and pushing their campaign past $108,000. In recent weeks, the group has focused much of its campaigning on producing short videos featuring public figures sharing their pitches for Alberta to remain in Canada. .Despite the recent spike in federalist donations, "Let Alberta Decide," a pro-Alberta independence group co-led by Keith Wilson and Tanya Clemens, continues to rank firmly atop the overall campaign leaderboard, raising $23,875 during the week and pushing its total to $526,133 since registering on June 17. The remaining 15 pro-Alberta independence TPAs raised $7,604 during the week, bringing the nationalist total to $31,479. Groups advertising on either side of the Alberta independence referendum have raised $1.3 million combined since Premier Danielle Smith announced the question on May 21. Albertans have contributed $956,744 to pro-Alberta independence groups, and $392,932 to federalists..According to the self-reported numbers, both Thomas Lukaszuk's "Forever Canadian" and the Conservative Party of Canada's "Stronger Alberta Within a United Canada" groups received zero financial contributions during the week. Lukaszuk appeared on a podcast recently and told the host that Forever Canadian has distributed over 70,000 lawn signs, begun distributing large signs and bumper stickers, and intends to host free public concerts in both Calgary and Edmonton. "But that's costing us money: the lawn signs, the bus on the road," said Lukaszuk during an episode of The OShow. "So, we are begging for donations from across Canada to go onto our website, forever-canadian.ca. But that's what allows us to do the work that we do. Most of the work is done with volunteers, but resources are still needed." Forever Canadian accepting donations from individuals or groups who are not ordinary residents of Alberta would directly violate Alberta's Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act, which prohibits TPAs from doing so. The group has registered as a referendum third-party advertiser with Elections Alberta, but has not disclosed any contributions because Lukaszuk claims they are campaigning for Canadian unity, not the referendum.
