Conservatives get more than $35M in donations during Poilievre’s first year as leader

OTTAWA — The Conservative Party of Canada raised more than $35 million during Pierre Poilievre’s first full year as leader — and the federal Liberals brought in less than half that amount.

The party says its 2023 numbers show it couldn’t be any clearer that Canadians are looking for change from the current government.

The Tories raised $12 million less in 2022, the year of the leadership race that elected Poilievre.

“These results prove support for my common sense plan to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime,” said Poilievre in a statement.

Filings with Elections Canada show one-third of the Conservatives’ fundraising total last year came in during the last three months of the year, which included more than $7 million in December alone.

The Liberal Party of Canada closed out the year raising more than $15 million, with a similar bump in the fourth quarter.

New Democrats raised less than $3 million over the course of the year, and the Bloc Québécois brought in less than $1 million.

Health Minister Mark Holland dismissed the Tories’ fundraising efforts on Wednesday in a lengthy back-and-forth with reporters.

“Holding a mirror to people’s anger and just making them more worked up, pushing into their wounds and into their fear, has great profit in it,” he said.

“And the Conservatives have been enormously successful in exploiting that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2024.

The Canadian Press