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Parties rake in millions in donations despite pandemic, padding campaign war chests

Jul 2, 2021 | 11:47 AM

OTTAWA — Federal parties appear to have seen a drop in their fundraising in 2020, a year when the pandemic dented donations of all kinds.

The Conservative return shows that the party pulled in more than $20.6 million in donations from almost 91,000 donors in 2020, down from the over $30.8 million contributed by nearly 124,00 people one year prior.

Party spokesman Cory Hann says the party still ran a surplus of nearly $4.5 million by year-end despite the difficulties COVID-19 presented for fundraising, one year after running a nearly $7-million deficit in the 2019 election year.

The Bloc Québécois brought in nearly $1.6 million in donations from over 10,100 donors last year, slightly down from the $1.8 million given by nearly 12,600 donors a year earlier. 

The party also ran a surplus of almost $107,000 last year, smaller than the $512,000 surplus in 2019, which helped pad the party’s bottom line as it prepares to run a slate of candidates only in Quebec.

Returns for the Liberals, New Democrats and Greens are not yet available.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2021. 

The Canadian Press