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The Conservatives are currently in a leadership race, an event that normally siphons funds away from a party’s main operations, with dollars now going to leadership contenders Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole, Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan.
In the second quarter of 2017, when the party’s last leadership race was underway it raised $4 million.
This year’s total is a historic low for the Conservative party, and spokesperson Cory Hann said the wage subsidy has allowed them to cover approximately 60 full-time and part-time total staff across Canada during a difficult time.
The eligibility spanned from March 15th until July 4th, and Hann said the party hasn’t yet decided if it will apply again.
“No decision has been taken yet whether we will re-apply – the timing of the next application isn’t for several more weeks.”
Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said this is further proof political parties should not have been eligible for the wage subsidy.
“I don’t think anyone envisioned when they came up with this program that it was for political parties,” he said.
He said they also shouldn’t be basing their eligibility by comparing revenue declines this year to 2019.
“Everyone knows, and it has always been historically the case, that parties raise more money in an election year.”
Parties receive rebates on election campaign expenses and political donations are eligible for generous tax write-offs, Wudrick said.
“They are already subsidized up the wazoo and yet now they are coming back for another form of subsidy,” he said. “It does not seem reasonable to me that they wouldn’t have the resources to tie themselves over for six months.”
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