Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre arrives at a press conference in Montreal, on July 12. The party has traditionally been better fundraisers than the Liberals and NDP but have increased their cash dominance since Poilievre became Conservative Leader in 2022.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is on track for another record-setting fundraising year, amassing more than $20-million in the first half of 2024 and far outpacing the results of the Liberals and NDP.
The Conservatives raised $9.8-million between April and June, according to the latest quarterly numbers released by Elections Canada on Wednesday. That brings their total to $20.5-million so far this year.
In comparison, the Liberals reported a haul of $3.8-million in the second quarter, taking in a total of $6.9-million this year. And the NDP raised $1.3-million, with a total of $2.6-million.
Both the Liberals and NDP are on par with the fundraising pace they set last year.
In 2023, the Tories raised $35.3-million, more money than all the other major political parties combined. At the time, the Conservatives said that was a record. In the last year, they’ve also opened up a double-digit lead over the Liberals in public opinion polls.
The party has traditionally been better fundraisers than the Liberals and NDP but have increased their cash dominance since Mr. Poilievre became Conservative Leader in 2022. With a bolstered war chest, the Conservatives are pressing their advantage against the other parties through ad buys across Canada.
The most recent financial reports show the party far outspending the Liberals and NDP in advertising. In 2023, reports filed with Elections Canada show the Conservatives spent $8.5-million on TV, radio and other advertising, such as digital buys. In contrast, the Liberals spent just $381,346 in the same time period, and the NDP spent just $42,310.
The numbers show a significant and growing advantage for the official opposition, said Cole Hogan, who previously worked on the advertising campaigns that helped elect conservative premiers Doug Ford and Jason Kenney. Mr. Hogan is now a principal at public-affairs firm GT&Co.
“The coffers are so full, that’s why you see this huge weekly ad spend,” Mr. Hogan said.
“This amount of ad budget on a regular basis means that more people are seeing Pierre Poilievre’s ads, and the Conservative ads, at a way higher frequency than anything else, especially compared to the Liberals and the NDP.”
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But a smaller war chest is not why the Liberals aren’t advertising, said Carlene Variyan, a former senior staffer in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and former member of the party’s national board of directors. Instead, she said it reflects the party’s strategy of avoiding attack ads outside of campaigns.
While the decision is consistent with party practice under Mr. Trudeau, she said it’s one that many Liberals disagree with.
“You would be hard-pressed to find a Liberal campaign alumni out there, like me or others, who wouldn’t tell you that they think the party should be running ads,” said Ms. Variyan, who is now an associate vice-president at public-affairs firm Summa Strategies.
Still, she said the fact that the Liberals increased their fundraising between the first and second quarters of this year, is heartening for the party.
“That’s not an easy thing to do when you’re the sitting government that is about to run for a fourth term,” Ms. Variyan said.
In a statement, Liberal spokesperson Parker Lund defended the fundraising levels, saying the party had the best May result for grassroots fundraising outside of an election year. On the timing of advertising spends, he pointed out that in the past, the Liberals have launched ad campaigns in the lead-up to elections.
“The same will be the case for the next election,” he said.
The NDP, for its part, said its fundraising has put them in a strong position to contest two by-elections on Sept. 16, both of which they are hoping to win in Winnipeg and Montreal.
“The NDP is in the strongest financial position it’s been in since 2015 – with no debt, the party’s been able to start building a strong election fund, and has been able to set up strong campaigns in both by-elections,” said NDP national director Lucy Watson in a statement.
The Conservatives declined to provide comment.