CTVNEWS

Grit fundraising efforts trail far behind Tories

CTV.ca News Staff Published Tuesday, July 3, 2007 8:29AM EDT

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The federal Liberal party's coffers are running low and a widely anticipated spring election campaign would have put serious pressure on the party's finances.

The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that the Conservatives raised 10 times as much money from 10 times as many donors than the Liberals in the first financial quarter of this year.

In the fiscal period ending March 31, the Conservatives brought in $5.1 million from 45,192 donors, while the Liberals raised $531,141 from 4.365 donors, states the Tuesday report in The Globe.

Despite the fact that both parties were quietly preparing for a possible spring election earlier in the year, Liberals told The Globe the party was taking a breather from fundraising after pulling in $6.5 million from 18,000 donors in the previous quarter.

But most of that money came from delegate fees received during the leadership convention in December in Montreal, according to the report.

Many have been left scratching their heads over why the Liberals would slow fundraising efforts when the prospect of an expensive election loomed so large.

The party appears to be trying to rectify the situation with the addition of two professional fundraisers, a centralized membership list and a new focus on electronic fundraising.

Some analysts have speculated that the party is still trying to get back on its feet after the election of Marie Poulin, the new party president, and Jamie Carroll, the new national party director. Both were brought in during the December leadership convention that saw Stephane Dion emerge as party leader.

The shift in personnel meant a steep learning curve for new staff and fundraising efforts still aren't totally back up to speed, said one expert.

"It [the poor showing] says to me that the internal party mechanism has not yet seriously turned its mind to this problem," York University professor Robert MacDermid, an expert on political fundraising, told The Globe. "That is partly the role of the leader."

Others attributed the slowdown to the fact that donors are simply tired of being asked for money. All of the candidates who ran for the party leadership are still working to pay off their own campaign debts, including Dion.

New fundraising rules first brought in by the Chretien government in the wake of the sponsorship scandal have also crimped the flow of donations, especially for the Liberals.

The law, as it now stands after having been toughened by the Conservatives, bans donations from corporations and unions and limits individual donations to $1,100.

Political parties now receive a taxpayer subsidy of $1.75 for every vote garnered in the last election, but the new system still hurts the Liberals, a party that received half of its donations from corporate sources prior to the implementation of the new rules.

As part of its response, the Liberal party if now sending out monthly issues-based e-solicitations seeking donations related to specific causes, such as the income trust controversy.

"Please consider a donation of $100 or even $400 today to help the Liberal team. Your donation will go directly towards getting our progressive message out to all Canadians," concluded a recent note from Finance Critic John McCallum, sent out to members.

Following are the amounts raised by the federal parties in the first quarter of this year.