Ontario PCs hold fundraising advantage ahead of possible vote
CBC
Ontario's Progressive Conservatives have a substantial cash advantage over their opponents after raising millions in 2024, as rumours of a snap election persist at Queen's Park.
Doug Ford's PCs raised $10.6 million in 2024, according to real-time figures from Elections Ontario, significantly out-pacing the Liberals, NDP and Green Party.
Experts say that cash could be used to finance a continued advertising blitz in the days leading up to, and during, a possible election campaign, which Ford has refused to rule out in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
"We're already seeing a lot of ads on TV," said conservative strategist Dan Mader, a founder of Loyalist Public Affairs, adding that an online and social media campaign will also be important.
"I think people are used to seeing the premier's face if they're watching playoff football," Mader said. "Those ads cost money, and there will be a lot more of those from all the parties once the election is called."
The Ontario Liberal Party came a distant second to the Tories in terms of 2024 advertising. Elections Ontario data shows they raised just under $2.5 million last year. Those numbers could be higher because the arm's length agency says parties are not required to report every donation under $200, though many do. The Liberals said in a press release last week that they raised $5.4 million last year from more than 11,200 donors.
The NDP raised $2.3 million last year, according to the Elections Ontario figures, but the party says it raised $5.3 million in 2024 overall, which includes donations to ridings which it says are not captured by the agency data.
The Elections Ontario figures show the Green Party raised $1.2 million last year, but the party itself says it raised $2 million when contributions not tracked by the agency are added to the total.
Former Liberal cabinet minister John Milloy said the fundraising gap between the government and opposition parties isn't unusual. But it does mean the Liberals, NDP and Greens are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting their message out, he said.
"You can't just run a clever ad a few times, you have to run it over and over and over again," said Milloy, who is now the director of the Centre for Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College.
"You have to go where the people are, which may mean a Stanley Cup playoff game, it may mean a major sporting event — those ads are astronomically expensive."
NDP strategist Mélanie Richer said the fundraising advantage plays out most dramatically in the lead up to the election. The party with the most cash can spend aggressively to frame themselves and their opponents, she said.
"If you have a bigger war chest … that idea that people have of you is pretty cemented by election time," said Richer, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategies and former communications director for federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
The parties also have Ontario's taxpayer-funded allowance to lean on, created in 2017 after the then Liberal government imposed a ban on corporate and union donations. The funding is allocated at a rate of approximately 63 cents per-vote every three months, based on the results of the 2022 election.
When Stephanie Gamble watched her mother model the first dress she made, smiling wide and walking an imaginary runway, she knew that was what she wanted to keep doing in her life.
'Tis the season for cuddling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching holiday movies. And for people in B.C.'s Interior, that can increasingly mean seeing their home communities on display.
Every year, snowy owls spread their wings and migrate down to the Prairies, where they enjoy access to plenty of rodent prey in vast open spaces.
This month has been a busy stretch at the Upper Room Food Bank in Charlottetown.
N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland says she has received the final report from an independent investigation into education bodies in the Dehcho region.
P.E.I.’s auditor general says he’s concerned and disappointed that the projected deficit has doubled what government initially estimated it would be — and he's urging the province to balance its budget.
A man found not criminally responsible for stabbing five people to death at a Calgary house party is getting more freedoms but not an absolute discharge.
A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a Toronto mother outside a supervised consumption site in Leslieville.
Russian olive trees — sometimes known as silver berry or oleaster — are small, ornamental plants with silvery leaves and black bark, and small yellow flowers and silver fruit that look like miniature olives. They’re pretty, but they’re a problem.
The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s fall sitting ended on Thursday after the territorial government introduced and passed a supplementary budget.
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, who stands accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was involved in an investigation into allegations that a leading Canadian defence journalist was a longtime Russian asset.
An Alberta panel aimed at finding ways the province can strengthen its autonomy has offered up seven recommendations, including options for referendum topics.
People won't be able to travel along B.C.'s Highway 3 without significant delays and detours over the holiday season, says the Ministry of Transportation.