EDMONTON — The Alberta Land Consortium third-party referendum advertising group led the TPA weekly donations leaderboard on Friday, receiving $20,960 in financial contributions amidst a tumultuous week that included news outlets addressing the criminal history of the group's organizer. According to the weekly contribution reports submitted by every TPA to Elections Alberta, the Alberta Land Consortium increased its overall campaign sum to $53,015 as of Thursday, which is a 65% increase from the $32,055 claimed on July 23. Alberta Land Consortium, led by Robert Deer, has faced criticism following a story published by The Tyee on July 22. In the article, reporter Charles Rusnell outlined the group's system in which individuals who contribute $1,000 receive a share in Alberta Land Consortium Inc., which includes partial ownership of the company's assets and land. .Rusnell then delves into Deer's history, which includes him being convicted of manslaughter in relation to a 2006 murder, though Deer told CTV News that the courts are wrong. “I served nine years and a little bit,” said Deer to CTV News. “My guilt is what my lawyers call being the getaway driver in a bungled bank robbery where the security guard gets shot, and everybody goes to jail, including the driver who never knew anything.”“I ended up doing jail time for somebody else because it’s an honour code to keep your mouth shut.”Other stories similar to Rusnell's appeared throughout the week. A theme throughout the independence movement has been supporters staying united amid outside noise about figures within the movement, such as lawyer Jeffrey Rath and former heart surgeon Dennis Modry, both of whom have been the subject of unpleasant news cycles. .The Alberta Land Consortium's $53,015 in donations received is the fifth most among all referendum TPAs and third within the pro-independence groups. The 22 TPAs advocating on either side of the Alberta independence debate combined to raise $79,970 during the reporting period, pushing the overall total to $844,194 since Premier Danielle Smith announced the referendum question on May 21. Pro-Alberta independence TPAs outpaced federalist groups $56,555 to $23,415 during the reporting period, and continue to lead the campaign totals by $690,967 to $153,226. Keith Wilson and Tanya Clemens' "Let Alberta Decide" TPA received the second most donations during the reporting period, bringing in $18,205 and elevating their campaign total to $378,093, which is over $250,000 more than any other group. Alberta's Voice, led by political strategist Stephen Carter, topped the federalist groups in both weekly and overall financial contributions, reporting $11,305 and $68,780, respectively. Former MP Monte Solberg's "Vote to Stay" group raised $10,645 during the reporting period, boosting their campaign total to $62,341. Vote to Stay made headlines on Monday after commissioning a 2,000-person survey showing that support for Alberta independence was below 25% among respondents across Alberta, with Edmonton and Calgary sharing the least support at 17% and 18%, respectively. The Forever Canadian and Stay Free Alberta TPAs did not report any financial contributions. Elections Alberta will publish the next round of financial reports on August 7.
