It’s not just in opinion polls that Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are lagging. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) continues to outperform all parties in terms of donations.
For the second quarter of the year, from April to June, the CPC received more than $9.8 million in donations — $6 million more than the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) received during the same period.
Pierre Poilievre’s party remains largely ahead in fundraising, although it is down slightly for the second quarter in a row. The Conservatives have already pocketed more than $20 million in donations since the start of 2024, outpacing the Liberals by $13 million.
The analysis carried out by The duty from the latest financial statements filed with Elections Canada shows that the gap between the Liberals and the Conservatives has widened significantly since Pierre Poilievre took over as party leader in September 2022.
More donations than in the election campaign
Since his election as leader, donations to the CPC have reached peaks comparable to — and even higher than — what the party received during the 2021 election campaign, a period when contributions are always higher for all parties.
The year 2023 was a record year for the CPC, with more than $35 million raised, compared to $15 million for the LPC.
Support for the Conservative Party has also soared in national polls since the election of their new leader. The Conservatives currently lead the Liberals by about 20 points in most polls, and in every province except Quebec.
Over the past three months, 52,512 people have donated to the CPC, compared to 28,523 to the Liberals.
Other parties down
The Liberals can still celebrate a small improvement since the beginning of the year: Canadians gave nearly $3.8 million to the Liberal Party between March and June of this year, an increase of 21% compared to the first three months of the year. The Liberal Party is the only party to have seen a slight increase since the last quarter.
Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP) collected nearly $1.3 million in the second quarter of the year, a decrease of about $55,000 compared to the previous quarter. The Bloc Québécois came in last, with just over $320,000 received during the same period, or about $21,000 less.
There is about a year left for the parties to fill their coffers before the next federal election, scheduled for October 2025 at the latest.
Justin Trudeau’s minority government could fall before that date, however, if the NDP withdraws its support from the support and confidence agreement concluded between the two parties.
By-elections will be held this fall, including a crucial election for the Liberals in Verdun-Émard-Lasalle, in Montreal. The election is scheduled for September 16, the date Parliament returns to Ottawa. The by-election became necessary following Mr. Lametti’s departure last January.
Justin Trudeau also called a by-election in the riding of Elmwood-Transcona, in east Winnipeg.