OTTAWA — Only two political parties managed to raise more money in the first quarter of this year than at the end of 2021: the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois.
Elections Canada’s latest reports show the Conservatives took in more than $5 million from 31,512 donors during the period in which former leader Erin O’Toole was ousted amid a major caucus revolt.
O’Toole lost the top job on Feb. 2 after a majority of the caucus voted to enter the party’s third leadership race since 2015, following weeks of party members calling for O’Toole to step down.
Candice Bergen became interim leader, and since then six people have lined up to become O’Toole’s permanent replacement when Conservatives vote in September.
The Tories also brought in more throughout 2021 than any other party, netting more than $26 million in donations compared to $18 million for the Liberals.
The Bloc’s fundraising efforts rebounded slightly after an 87 per cent drop in donations between September and December of last year, but the $551,488 raised is still less than half of what it brought in during the quarter that included the federal election.
Political parties often raise more during writ periods and this recent election was no exception, with the five major parties bringing in more than $24.5 million in combined donations during the quarter ending in September 2021. That dropped to just over $10.6 million between October and December, and the total stands at more than $11.2 million so far this year.
Liberal donors gave just shy of $3.5 million in the first three months of the year, down from $3.9 million at the end of last year.
In fact, fundraising efforts netted less in the last six months — $7.3 million — than during the three months leading up to the vote, when donors gave $7.9 million.
Justin Trudeau’s party formed a second-straight minority government after the Sept. 20 election, and has since entered a supply and confidence agreement with the NDP. It’s too soon to say what that late-March deal will mean for Jagmeet Singh’s ability to raise money for his party, but so far in 2022, things are in decline.
The NDP raised just over $4 million leading up to the election. That dropped by more than half to $1.9 million as 2021 came to an end, and has further slipped to more than $1.3 million between January and March.
Overall, the fourth party in the House of Commons raised around $9 million in 2021.
The Green party’s overall donations dropped by almost half during the first full quarter under interim leader Amita Kuttner, down to $419,405 from $845,607.
That’s also a steep drop from the third quarter of 2021, when more than 12,000 donors gave more than $1.3 million.
Overall the Greens raised $3.5 million in 2021, a year marked by upheaval and infighting, a poor election result and Annamie Paul’s decision to step down as leader in November.
The People’s Party of Canada brought in the smallest amount last quarter with $414,000 from just shy of 5,000 donors.
Maxime Bernier’s party, which did not win any seats in the election, raised $704,000 between October and December. Figures for the rest of 2021 were not available.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2022.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
