Tory riding associations' war chests larger than other parties, analysis shows
An in-depth analysis by The Canadian Press of federal parties' financing at the grassroots level shows Conservative candidates' riding-based war chests are flush with cash, dramatically outpacing their political rivals.
A review of the most recent financial statements filed by riding associations to Elections Canada show that Conservative associations have, on average, just under $61,000 in net assets, almost $25,000 more than the ruling Liberals whose associations on average had $36,250 in net assets at the end of 2020.
The figures were smaller for New Democrats and Greens whose riding associations had assets valued in the four-digit range -- $7,123 and $6,240, respectively.
The figures are based on annual returns for the 2020 fiscal year filed by July 22 from parties represented in the House of Commons. In all, there were 150 Green associations, 234 NDP associations, 143 Liberal and 251 Conservatives included in the analysis.
Only 10 Bloc Quebecois associations had filed their returns with Elections Canada at the time of this analysis. The party only runs candidates in Quebec. The 10 associations with returns had on average $22,416 in net assets.
More returns are likely to trickle in over the coming weeks, such as Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole's association in his riding of Durham, and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet's riding of Beloeil-Chambly.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's association in Papineau had just over $83,000 in net assets, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's association in Burnaby South had $61,435.
While the parties like to tout their fundraising prowess at the national level, a well-stocked riding association cannot only help fund local contests but also transfer money to other associations and the national campaign to help cover costs.
The riding associations themselves are the formal entities that can raise money in between campaigns, and may use some of that to promote a new or incumbent candidate locally before campaign spending limits come into play, said David Coletto of Abacus Data, who has studied the financing of riding associations.
How much they can raise depends on a variety of factors, including whether the party has a prominent MP or cabinet minister and local demographics, said Tom Flanagan, a former Conservative campaign adviser and now a retired University of Calgary politics professor.
"There is a lot of imbalance in fundraising ... and parties try to address it in various ways to move money around to where it is needed," he said. "And like everything in politics, the processes are imperfect, but you do your best."
The top-10 riding associations in the country were all Conservative in the analysis, with longtime MP Scott Reid's association in the Ontario riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston the most well-stocked with over $351,000 in net assets.
The top Liberal is Procurement Minister Anita Anand, whose riding association in Oakville had nearly $205,000 in net assets, which puts the association two spots shy of the top 10.
Green MP and former leader Elizabeth May has the most flush association in her party with Saanich-Gulf Islands (over $160,500) while Don Davies is the top New Democrat with his Vancouver Kingsway association holding just over $99,000 in net assets.
The associations with candidates that raise the most money are often the ones that least need it to win, Flanagan said.
Where the money is needed is in ridings where the parties believe they have a shot at winning, but little cash to make it happen, said Lori Turnbull, director of Dalhousie University's school of public administration. Parties will move money around between associations to concentrate resources in contestable races, she said.
Spending by local associations in those ridings can have a small effect on election outcomes, Coletto said.
"It could matter, and especially in some of those close races," he said. "But for the most part, most people don't vote for the local candidate. They're voting because of factors that are usually national or beyond even the national campaign."
Essentially, riding associations have become more like fast-food franchises where what they dole out as far as messaging doesn't often waver from what the national campaign has set out, Turnbull said.
Where it might waver is in ridings where parties don't expect their pitch or their leader to resonate with voters, she said.
"They will concentrate resources or time and money on ridings that they think are more contestable," she said. "That's up to the party to decide whether something is worth giving it a shot."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.