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Alberta Politics

NDP clobbers UCP in first quarter fundraising. Notley’s party raised twice as much cash as Kenney’s UCP in the first three months of 2021

The Alberta NDP raised twice as much money as the United Conservative Party in the first quarter of 2021, according to financial documents released today by Elections Alberta.

This marks the third quarter in the last year that Rachel Notley’s NDP have out-fundraised the governing UCP. Not only have Albertans been showing their unhappiness with Jason Kenney’s UCP in the polls, they are clearly showing it by voting with their pocketbooks and credit cards.

Here is what Alberta’s political parties raised during the first quarter of 2021:

  • NDP: $1,186,245
  • UCP: $591,597
  • Alberta Party: $48,194
  • Wildrose Independence Party: $36,883
  • Pro-Life Political Association: $33,261
  • Alberta Liberal Party: $31,798
  • Green Party: $5,010.00
  • Independence Party: $1,559.25

Notley’s NDP are on a roll, leading in the polls and continuing to dominate in fundraising. Despite losing government two years ago, the NDP appear to have solidified a larger base of donors who contribute donations in smaller amounts. Sixty-eight per cent of individual donations received by the NDP in the first quarter were in denominations of less than $250, compared to 39 per cent for the UCP.

At first glance, it would appear as though many of the UCP’s wealthier donors, who in previous years contributed a maximum annual donation in the first quarter, have not yet donated this year. This could be a big indication with a growing unhappiness in the direction of the UCP and Kenney’s leadership over the course of the past year.

The Pro-Life Political Association, which was known as the Social Credit Party before it was taken over by anti-abortion activists in 2016, went from raising nothing for the past few quarters to raising more than $33,261 in the last three months. It is unclear why the effectively dormant party that ran only one candidate in the last election and whose previous leader resigned to become a monk is now active.

The Alberta Advantage Party, Communist Party and the Reform Party raised no funds during this period.

The maximum annual donation to political parties was increased to $4,243 from $4.000 as of January 1, 2020.

Categories
Alberta Politics

Notley’s NDP raised more cash than Kenney’s UCP in the final months of 2020

The Alberta NDP raised more money from individual Albertans than the United Conservative Party in the final quarter of 2020, according to financial documents released today by Elections Alberta.

This marks the second time in the last year that the opposition NDP have out-fundraised the governing UCP, suggesting Albertans are voting with their pocketbooks and credit cards.

Here is what Alberta’s political parties raised during the fourth quarter of 2020:

  • NDP $2,322,490.38
  • UCP $1,921,813.21
  • Alberta Party $50,738.66
  • Wildrose Independence Party $45,863.49
  • Liberal Party $44,746.87
  • Green Party $17,847.00
  • Alberta Advantage Party – $4,055.00
  • Independence Party – $2,990.40
  • Communist Party – $100.00

This marks the first time since the UCP was created that the NDP have fundraised more money over the course of a year. According to the Elections Alberta disclosures, the NDP raised $5,061,979.02 in 2020 with the UCP narrowly behind at $5,046,322.52.

The Alberta Party, Wildrose Independence Party, Liberal Party and Green Party also saw increases in their quarterly fundraising, though they remain significantly behind the two major parties.

The maximum annual donation to political parties was increased to $4,243 from $4.000 as of January 1, 2020.

Categories
Alberta Politics

Alberta Election 2015: Candidate and Fundraising Updates

As of today, only the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives  are the only parties to have nominated a full slate of candidates in all 87 constituencies across Alberta.

Friday, April 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. is the deadline for candidates to submit their official papers with Elections Alberta in order to have their names listed on ballots in their constituencies.

The official opposition Wildrose Party has candidates nominated in 78 of 87 constituencies.

The Wildrose lost one more candidate this week when leader Brian Jean quickly removed Calgary-Varsity candidate Russ Kuykendall after controversial online remarks from 2007 criticizing a Pride event in Edmonton were discovered.

AlbertaPolitics.com reports that the not quite full slate may be part of a Wildrose strategy to help PC candidates defeat NDP candidates in Edmonton. Recent polls have showed the NDP has strong support in Edmonton, which may explain why the Wildrose Party appears to be putting little resources into its Capital City campaigns.

Liberal leader David Swann announced his party plans to run candidates in only 47 constituencies, leaving 40 constituencies without Liberal candidates on the ballot. This sends a strong sign of the party’s province-wide disorganization.

The Alberta Party has nominated 36 candidates and the Green Party has put forward candidates in 29 constituencies.

Fundraising

Elections Alberta released first quarter fundraising reports from 2015, showing the financial strengths and weaknesses of Alberta’s political parties. Here are the results of party fundraising in the first four months of 2015: PC $825,318; NDP $406,883; Wildrose $355,091; Liberal $110,764; Alberta Party $109,272.

Giving an indication of how much Alberta’s political environment has changed in the past 12 months, here is what the same parties raised in the first quarter of 2014: Wildrose $891,418; PC $769,800; NDP $123,397; LIB $79,905; Alberta Party $27,200.