Doug Ford's PC Party fundraising leaves rivals in its dust

Premier Doug Ford's Ontario PCs have built up a $9 million surplus in party coffers, dwarfing their rivals amid the possibility of an early provincial election call.

The parties have just filed their annual financial statements to Elections Ontario and the documents show the Progressive Conservatives in far better financial shape than either the NDP or Liberals.

The reports show each party's surplus at the end of 2023 as follows: 

It's uncommon for an Ontario party to be so flush with cash this early in a four-year election cycle.

The surplus puts the PCs in position to get a leg up on the opposition by spending money now on such activities as political advertising and polling, which strategists say will give Ford's party a distinct advantage if he calls an early election. 

The Ontario PC Party has a "very significant and sustained" lead in fundraising over its rivals, says Dan Mader, a longtime Conservative political organizer and a founding partner of communications firm Loyalist Public Affairs. 

"Competing for votes is expensive," said Mader in an interview. "Politics is about reaching voters, convincing them to support you and then making sure [those voters] get around to voting. Money drives all of that." 

Mader says the PCs get an even bigger boost by having so much money available now because the spending limits imposed on Ontario's political parties around each election campaign aren't currently in force.  

"The fundraising advantage for the PCs really lets them get out of the gate and build up their lead and solidify it," he said. 

The hefty war chest has already helped the PCs to run high-profile political advertising campaigns this year. 

This has included attack ads targeting Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and promotional ads showing Ford making calls on his phone and saying he's "working hard to make things better for every single person in Ontario." 

Neither the Liberals nor the NDP have mounted such high-profile and costly ad campaigns and their financial situation is likely why, according to Kate Harrison, a Conservative strategist and vice-chair of Summa Strategies, a public affairs firm. 

"There's a big hill to climb for [party leader] Marit Stiles and the NDP in terms of framing themselves as the true opposition party to Doug Ford," said Harrison in an interview. "Not having the resources in the bank to do that is a challenge." 

The opposition parties face the prospect of even tougher financial times next year when they lose out on what has been their most reliable source of revenue.