Sask. Party far ahead of NDP in fundraising

Corporations top donors to incumbents, unions opened wallets for Meili crew

The Saskatchewan Party trounced the provincial NDP in the last full year of fundraising before an election set for this fall, out-raising its rival by more than $2 million.

John Tzupa, the provincial secretary of the Saskatchewan NDP, said the financial gap is nothing new. He said the Saskatchewan Party has racked up higher donations than his party for years thanks to its ready access to deep corporate pockets.

“We’ve been out-financed for our entire existence,” said Tzupa.

The Saskatchewan NDP raised $1.35 million during the year up to December 31, 2019. That’s less than 40 per cent of the Saskatchewan Party’s $3.41 million haul over the same period.

The gap was wider than what the parties reported for 2018, when the Saskatchewan Party raised $2.71 million to the NDP’S $1.32 million. But the Saskatchewan Party was ahead by almost $3 million in 2015, before the last provincial election.

The 2019 numbers became public through financial statements posted to Elections Saskatchewan’s website on June 12. The results would usually be ready by May, but the parties got a grace period due to the COVID -19 pandemic.

The Saskatchewan Party’s roughly $900,000 lead in individual donations, while significant, was not quite as striking as the overall figure. It added to its lead with $1,239,886 worth of corporate donations, while companies all but ignored the NDP, giving just $52,973.

The NDP raised $202,397 from trade unions, including $69,733 from Unifor, far outpacing the Saskatchewan Party’s donations from labour. The NDP also brought in $2,000 from Unifor locals.

Tzupa said the NDP’S fundraising efforts have been strong over the first six months of 2020, despite a near hiatus at the height of the COVID -19 threat.

“We’re off to a good start,” he said. “Our first quarter was more than double what we raised last year in the first quarter. This second quarter has also been good.”

Saskatchewan Party executive director Patrick Brundrock said 2020 has also been “very strong” for his party, despite a two-month break due to the pandemic. Fundraising restarted in earnest just last week, he said.

In 2019, the largest corporate donor to the Saskatchewan Party was PIC Investment Group Inc., a Saskatoon-based holding company that contributed $26,300. The party’s donor list featured several energy sector companies headquartered outside the province, including Enbridge, Crescent Point, Nexgen and Canadian Natural Resources Limited.

Construction, engineering and real estate companies made frequent appearances on the Saskatchewan Party roster, as did law offices.

Bundrock pointed out that the average corporate donation to his party was actually relatively small, at around $1,200. He noted that the NDP’S largest donation, from Unifor, was far more significant.

The business community was also well represented in the Saskatchewan Party’s list of individual donors. Gavin Semple of Brandt Tractor donated $3,500, while his wife Annette gave $3,000. Ron Graham, former president and CEO of Graham Construction, donated $10,000.

The party’s top individual donation came from Glen Dow, the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Wilton, at $10,240. He also topped the list for highest individual donation in 2014 and 2015.

A number of high-spending individual donors work for energy companies based outside the province, generally in Alberta, according to their Linkedin or company profiles.

Saskatchewan has no restrictions on out-of-province donations from Canadian citizens. It is widely viewed as having some of the loosest party finance laws in the country. There is no cap on the size of donations.

After Unifor, the NDP’S top union donor was CUPE-SCFP at $60,000. Its highest individual donation came from an estate. NDP Leader Ryan Meili gave $3,400, the fifth highest individual donation to his party.

Premier Scott Moe contributed $800 toward his own party’s efforts.

The fundraising gap was not simply a matter of big cheques from the largest Saskatchewan Party donors. The governing party also attracted more donors overall, with 15,300 contributions. The NDP had 9,421.

All told, the two parties reported similar levels of cash on hand. The Saskatchewan Party had $1,368,724, while the NDP was holding $1,350,402.

That’s partly because the Saskatchewan Party devoted some of its financial lead to the airwaves. It outspent the NDP by almost $1 million overall last year. One of the widest gaps was in advertising. The NDP sunk just $3,341 into broadcast advertising over the previous fiscal year, far less than the $223,358 the governing party put out over that period.

Most of the money was spent before June 9. In early 2019, the Saskatchewan Party was running TV ads to frame Meili as “out of touch with Saskatchewan.”

Bundrock noted that his party is always focused on running ads throughout the election cycle.

The Saskatchewan Party also transferred $795,668 to its constituency associations last year, while the NDP was only able to pass on $214,269. Candidates are allowed to spend up to $62,081 in general elections for most constituencies, and Bundrock said most of Saskatchewan Party’s local campaigns should be fully funded.

Tzupa said the NDP spent money on advertising that did not make it onto the returns, including for billboards and digital ads.

The fundraising gap may not mean as much during the formal campaign, which should begin in September for an October election. Both parties will be subject to the same spending limit of $1.07 million. Tzupa said the NDP plans to spend to the limit.

Saskatchewan’s minor parties had meagre draws compared with the two giants. The Saskatchewan Liberals raised $13,514 in 2019, more than the Saskatchewan Green Party’s $11,788 and the Progressive Conservative Party’s $2,477.

But the PC Party is still in fine fiscal shape due to its trust fund, which it pulled $200,000 out of last year. That allowed the PCS to heavily outspend all of the other minor parties.

The nascent Wexit party was not included in the financial returns as it was not yet registered as a party last year.