The Conservative Party of Canada has continued on its fundraising streak, collecting more money in the last quarter than all the other major parties combined.
Financial returns for the period ending in September were made publicly available by Elections Canada this week.
It shows the Conservatives received nearly $8.5 million in contributions from more than 45,441 donors. When adding transfers from riding associations and other sources, the Tories raked in nearly $8.8 million.
The Liberal Party of Canada came in a distant second with more than $3.3 million in contributions from 28,445 donors. Adding transfers, the total rose to more than $3.4 million, or 38 percent of the amount raised by the Tories.
The NDP for its part raised more than $1.2 million and the Bloc Québécois more than $356,000 in the last quarter.
While maintaining a solid lead, the Tories have fundraised less than they did earlier this year when the party collected more than $10 million in two separate quarters.
Building party finances is becoming increasingly crucial as Canada is about to enter an election year. The next federal election is scheduled for October 2025, though there have been attempts by the Tories to topple the minority Liberal government.
While it backed out of its supply-and-confidence keeping the Liberals in power, the NDP has opposed an early election.
The Bloc Québécois tried to get some concessions from the Liberals after the NDP broke its deal, giving the government the deadline of Oct. 29 to pass two of its private member’s bill or risk losing the Bloc’s support in confidence motions. The deadline passed without passage of either bill.
Singh has made it clear he prefers a Liberal government in power—through which he has advanced NDP priorities such as national dental care—compared to a Conservative government promising to bring government spending under control.
The Conservative message appears to be resonating with Canadians affected by affordability issues. If an election was held today, the Tories would likely be in majority territory according to polling conducted over the past year.
The Liberals have also been experiencing turmoil in their caucus in recent weeks. Some Liberal MPs have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down after a summer in which the party lost two strongholds during Toronto and Montreal byelections.
Trudeau has said he intends to lead his party in the next election, causing some disgruntled MPs to push for a secret vote on his leadership. The Liberal Party doesn’t have a mechanism to recall a leader, having not subscribed to the Reform Act.
Many party MPs and ministers have called for the dispute to be put to rest to focus on defeating Poilievre in the next election.
The party’s new national campaign director Andrew Bevan outlined some of the upcoming electoral strategy at the last Liberal caucus meeting on Oct. 30.
“Conservatives should be nervous,” Liberal MP Ken Hardie said about the plan when speaking to reporters on Oct. 30.
