Vaughn Palmer: Conservative fundraising eclipsed NDP's during campaign

Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and then-Premier David Eby at a Board of Trade event in Vancouver just weeks before the provincial election. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10112914A

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VICTORIA — The B.C. Conservatives raised almost $3 in campaign contributions for every $1 raised by the New Democrats in advance of the October provincial election, according to the latest financial report from Elections B.C.

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The massive influx of cash only started after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned from the party leadership.

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Whereas many NDP supporters not only sat on their hands during the election, they also sat on their wallets.

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The Conservatives received $2,729,016.27 in total political contributions from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to a report from the independent regulator of provincial elections, released Tuesday.

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About 90 per cent — $2,447,690.92 — came in following Findlay’s resignation on Sept. 20. The surge included a whopping $800,000 on the final day of reporting, Sept. 30.

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Clearly, a lot of Conservative financial backers were holding back until the discredited Findlay vacated the leadership to be replaced by Lorne Doerkson.

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The cash flow also indicates why Peter Milobar, and other Conservatives who had taken refuge in CentreBC, decided to throw in with Doerkson in the wake of Findlay’s departure.

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The Conservatives, despite their previous chaos, had the more established party organization and fundraising apparatus.

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The fundraising report provided a no less telling story on the NDP side. Over the past two years (including the 2024 election), the New Democrats raised $12 million, to just under $9 million for the Conservatives.

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The NDP fell behind in the first two quarters of this year as the Conservative party reaped a financial windfall from contributions to candidates during their leadership campaign.

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The fundraising gap opened up in the third quarter when the New Democrats pulled in $986,093.03 to the Conservatives $2.7 million-plus.

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The tally for the quarter included $755,847.90 that came in the wake of Premier David Eby’s election call on the Sept. 22, dwarfed by the $2.4 million taken in by the Conservatives over roughly the same span.

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Final figures on political donations for the year won’t be available until later. The report for the 2024 election year wasn’t released until April 8 2025.

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The NDP’s disappointing showing on funding reinforces other evidence that the governing party was not nearly ready for an early election.

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That was not the case with the election called by Eby’s predecessor John Horgan for Oct. 24, 2020, a year ahead of schedule.

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The New Democrats began holding campaign workshops in the spring of that year, and by summer Elections B.C. had already moved to a high state of readiness.