The federal Conservative Party leadership contest was the biggest political fundraiser of the modern era, according to Elections Canada filings. Partial returns indicate all candidates combined raised $8.3 million from 55,000 donors under a federal law that caps individual contributions at $1,675. More than half was raised by Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre..According to Blacklock's Reporter, MP Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.) reported $4.6 million from almost 39,000 contributors. It was the largest fundraiser by any candidate since Parliament passed the 1974 Election Expenses Act limiting campaign contributions and spending..Record-breaking donations eclipsed previous fundraising by successful leadership candidates including Conservatives Erin O’Toole ($3.49 million in 2020) and Andrew Scheer ($995,593 in 2017), and New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh ($931,277 in 2017)..Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his successful 2013 campaign for the Liberal Party leadership raised $1.9 million from 10,957 donors. Runners-up in the Liberal contest were now-Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray ($271,476) and former MP Martha Hall Findlay ($250,671)..Liberal MP Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de Grace, Que.) raised $295,997 from 1,565 donors in his unsuccessful bid for the 2013 leadership. Garneau suspended his campaign a month before balloting after calling Trudeau’s win “a fait accompli.”.Interim filings in Saturday’s Conservative contest detailed financial statements by individual candidates. Records showed:.• $4,618,090 from 38,665 donors for MP Poilievre;• $1,791,575 from 4,591 donors for former Québec premier Jean Charest;• $917,522 from 5,785 donors for MP Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand-Norfolk, Ont.);• $577,959 from 4,579 donors for former Ontario MPP Roman Baber;• $443,382 from 999 donors for MP Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.)..High rates of donations overall came despite one campaign’s complaints of disappointing returns in an April 12 fundraiser. Candidate Baber in an Elections Canada filing said attendees at a $1,000-a plate fundraiser at a North York, Ont. pizzeria included several people let in for free..“Sales were very slow,” Baber’s campaign wrote to regulators. “In order to fill the event as best we could we invited a number of guests who did not pay in the hope they would make a subsequent donation. We also gave complimentary tickets to some campaign workers and to some people who donated before the event.”.The Conservative Party on Saturday said 678,702 Canadians bought memberships. A total 437,854 mailed in ballots with 417,987 validated. The remaining 19,867 were disqualified due to paperwork errors, “missing ID being the greatest disqualifying criterion,” the Party said..The Liberal Party in its previous leadership campaigns reported 531,536 paid members in 2003 and 294,002 members in 2013..Federal legislation regulating political fundraising dates from the 1874 Dominion Elections Act that required all candidates to disclose how much they spent. Names of donors were first mandated in 1908.
