Projet Montreal says it's ending fiscal year with fundraising record

Valerie Plante speaks to supporters after being elected mayor of Montreal on election night during the municipal election in Montreal, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Montreal — Projet Montreal, the party of Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, announced Tuesday it had ended the year with a record amount of fundraising, which it said testified to the “growing support” of Montrealers.

The party raised $184,132 this fiscal year and is ending the year with $347,146 in liquid net assets, it said.

By comparison, at the end of 2015—the parallel point in the previous electoral cycle—the party had just over a third of that amount, $123,225.

The next municipal election in about a year and a half, in fall 2021.

"I am very satisfied with our financial results for 2019, because they demonstrate that the vision that we carry, at Projet Montréal, still resonates as much with the Montreal population,” said Plante in a news release.

Raphaëlle Rinfret-Pilon, the party’s new general manager, said the year set a fundraising record in a non-election year, while also “significantly increasing” the share of donations of less than $50.

Membership also grew, said Rinfret-Pilon, “especially in several boroughs where we were traditionally less present.” The release listed Rivière-des-Prairies and Saint-Leonard in particular.

Projet Montreal was founded 16 years ago. In addition to the amounts raised, it also announced it had repaid all its loans this year and is no longer in debt.