With no donation limits, former premier gave N.L. Tories $46,900 ahead of election

ST. JOHN’S — Former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams donated more than $46,000 to the Progressive Conservatives ahead of last year’s election in a province where corporations and individuals can make political contributions as large as they want.

Williams was a vocal opponent of the former Liberal government’s draft energy deal with Hydro-Québec, which the victorious Progressive Conservatives — led by Tony Wakeham — promised to review and subject to a public referendum.

Newfoundland and Labrador is one of just two Canadian provinces where someone such as Williams could donate tens of thousands of dollars to a political party. The province has no rules capping donations, nor forbidding political contributions from private companies and unions.

“I felt compelled to do my part to both support Premier Wakeham and to ensure the (draft deal) was stopped,” Williams said in an emailed statement.

Figures released this week from Elections NL show Williams was among many donors that forked over large cheques to their preferred party in 2025, as voters in the province prepared to elect a new government.

It was a close race for votes and donations, the numbers show.

The provincial Liberals collected nearly $1.28 million in donations over $100 in 2025 — a slight edge over the Progressive Conservatives’ reported $1.06 million.

The NDP gathered more than $250,000 in contributions, including $16,000 from the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour and $11,000 from the Canadian Union of Public Employees in the province.

“The NDP has a strong track record of presenting petitions, moving private members’ bills, and speaking on issues that matter most to the working class in the province,” said Jessica McCormick, president of the labour federation.

The Progressive Conservatives ultimately won a slim majority, ending a decade of Liberal rule in Canada’s easternmost province.

The Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives collected handsome sums from private companies, as allowed by the province’s election rules. Saskatchewan is the only other province with no limits on political contributions from Canadian residents and citizens.

Contracting company Marco Group Ltd. gave the Liberals more than $72,000 over nine donations before the Oct. 14 Newfoundland and Labrador election.

Marco Group then gave the Progressive Conservatives $21,800 in two donations, both of which came after the party unseated the Liberals, Elections NL data show.

The former Liberal government hired Marco Group to help construct several buildings, including a mental health and addictions centre that opened in St. John’s last year.

EverWind Fuels, an outfit hoping to develop a wind-powered hydrogen energy operation in southern Newfoundland, gave the Liberals $8,750 in January 2025, when the party was still in power.

The records show the company gave the Progressive Conservatives $1,800 in November, after the Tories won.

Seafood company Ocean Choice International gave the Liberals $25,000 over five donations before the election.

The same company gave the Progressive Conservatives $2,100 in June, followed by a $20,000 donation in late September, near the end of the election campaign, and another $2,250 in November, after the vote.

Quinlan Brothers Ltd., another seafood company, gave the Tories $35,000 about midway through the election campaign, the records show.

Energy company and gas retailer North Atlantic donated $50,765 to the Liberals through its various divisions, beginning in January 2025, according to the numbers.

The company also contributed $34,850 to the Progressive Conservatives in five donations.

Williams, the former premier who led the province for seven years before stepping down in 2010, made his donations in five separate instalments, using two different names, Daniel Williams and Danny Williams.

His spokesperson confirmed Williams made all five donations.

Williams’ company, Dewcor Properties Ltd., also cut cheques totalling $4,250 for the Tories at various times in the year.

The draft energy deal Williams opposes was unveiled by the former Liberal government in late 2024. If finalized, it would see Hydro-Québec pay much more for power from the Churchill Falls generating station in Labrador, and develop new projects along the Churchill River alongside Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

The Liberals said the arrangement would bring about $225 billion to the province over 50 years. It was central to their reelection strategy.

Wakeham and his Progressive Conservatives have been skeptical. He campaigned on a promise to have the tentative agreement reviewed and to subject it to a public referendum.

Williams paid for signs railing against the deal, which sprang up around St. John’s before the election. He said he was motivated when the Liberals said the agreement was the most important issue at stake in the vote.

The Progressive Conservatives ultimately won 21 of the 40 seats in Newfoundland and Labrador’s legislature; the Liberals won 15. The NDP won two and there are two Independents.

The Liberals reported $931,799 in election campaign expenses, while the Tories reported spending $946,152 during the campaign.

In addition, the Liberals reported finishing the year with a deficit of more than $154,000, contrasting with the Tories, who reported a surplus of more than $137,000.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press