Conservative parties outpace NDP fundraising in 2017

A partial glimpse of political fundraising during 2017 shows the combined total for Alberta'sthreeconservative partiesoutpaced contributions tothe NDP.

In year-to-date totals, the United Conservative,Wildrose andProgressive Conservativeparties drew $2,071,123 in donations compared to $1,701,000 for the NDP.

Political contribution numbers posted today by Elections Alberta showed that the fundraising frenzy established in the earlier part of 2017 continued through the year.

But the latest numbers do not include the crucial period during the Calgary Lougheed byelection held in December, which could substantially skew the final figures.

Drew Westwater, deputy chief electoral officer with Elections Alberta, says byelection fundraising for political partiesand for third-party advertisers are reported separately. Those numbers will be released later this year.

Consolidated fundraising totals, which include contributions to constituency associations and directly to the party, show the UCP raised $737,543 in 2017, the Wildrose attracted $987,702, and $345,878 went to the PC party.

Roari Richardson, provincial secretary of the Alberta NDP, saidwhen the final numbers are revealed, theywill show the NDPhad a successful fundraising year. He expects Elections Alberta will release that information in February.

"I can't tell you where the UCP will be but, I feel very excited about our number," said Richardson.

Alberta Liberals ended the year with a total of $163,115 in contributions.

The Alberta Party, which says it experienced a surge in memberships this year, did not run a candidate in the Calgary byelection.

It raised$91,017in the fourth quarter of 2017 more than the previous three quarters combined for a year-end tally of $171,411.

PACsraising money

Third-party advertisers, commonly referred to as political action committees (PACs), also continued to attract large contributions.

The Alberta Advantage Fund raised$283,970 in the final quarter of the year, for a staggeringyear-to-date total of $1,097,480.

Coming in adistant second but still drawing substantial dollars wasthe Alberta Federation of Labour with a 2017 total of $560,618.

• New Alberta bill introduces restrictions on PACs, but allows them to accept corporate, union donations

The NDP introduced newfundraising rules in 2015by capping political fundraising and spending through the Fair Elections Financing Act. The bill bans union and corporate donations to political partiesand sets a $4,000 limit on individual donations.

However, the parameters are looser for third-party advertisers.

The Act to Strengthen and Protect Democracy in Albertadoesn't explicitly ban corporate and union donations to PACsnor does it legislate a cap as it did for contributions to political parties.