Canada PoliticsLiberals and Conservatives battle for year-end donations
There's a political battle brewing in Ottawa as we wind down the year.
Both Conservative and Liberal party headquarters are trying one-up each other for fundraising bragging rights in the final quarter of 2013.
The Liberals are trying to raise $1 million in 12 days (by midnight Thursday) in an attempt to "out-raise" the Tories in a quarter ffor the first time in years.
They've even recruited ex-prime ministers Martin and Chretien to help bring-in the dough.
Here's a message posted on the Liberal website by Chretien.
Over the last 50 years, Liberal Leaders built the Canada we know and love.
Lester Pearson brought in medicare, the Canada Pension Plan and the Canadian flag.
Pierre Trudeau gave us his vision of a Just Society, bilingualism, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and repatriated the Constitution.
And my government balanced budgets, made investments in research and universities, brought us Kyoto, and the Clarity Act, initiated Team Canada Trade Missions, signed the Land Mines Treaty, said no to the War in Iraq, and refused the bank mergers and deregulation that enabled us to withstand the 2008 world economic crisis.
Every day the Conservatives are chipping away at the values we cherish: First Kyoto. Then gun control. They’ve attacked our privacy, and our ability to vote. Now they’ve corrupted one of our founding institutions, the Senate of Canada.
Bit by bit, this miracle of our imagination called Canada, and 50 years of our hard work, is fading away.
With 12 hours left to raise the $1-million we need to out-raise the Conservatives this fundraising quarter
[ Related: Tories defend their record after another scandal plagued session of Parliament ]
Not to be outdone, the Tories launched their own campaign, on Thursday, called 'Seize the Moment' and are looking to raise $2 million by the end of the year.
Here's an email they sent to the party faithful.
Friend,
The success of our Party over the last 10 years has been a result of our ability to consistently raise more money than our opposition. And as one of our key supporters you've been a critical part of that success.
Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have made fundraising their top priority, and they are working hard to close the gap.
Our Party can only win the next election if we keep our fundraising advantage and the 2015 election is right around the corner. If we want to win, we need to get ready now.
That's why we are launching the Seize the Moment campaign to raise $2 million by the end of the year.
This is an ambitious goal for our Party, but I know that you, my fellow members, donors and supporters will stand with us. I am asking you today –will you donate $5 or whatever you can afford today to help us reach our $2 million goal?
Make your $5 gift today and help us Seize the Moment – we're counting on you.
[ Related: Justin Trudeau questioned about poor attendance record in the House of Commons ]
While the Tories have been the best fundraisers since 2006, the Liberals are indeed closing the gap.
According to Elections Canada information the Tories raised $4.86 million (from 30,427 donors) between April and June of 2013 compared to the Liberals at $2.96 million (from 38,104 donors).
In the third quarter, ending September 30, the Tories raised $3.43 million (from 28,968 donors) to the Liberals' $2.17 million (from 30, 108 donors).
As of 6:00 p.m. (EST), the Liberals have raised $757,253 of their million dollar goal.
(Photo is a screen grab of Liberal.ca)
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