O’Toole to raise cash in person
Top Tory hosts 12 events in Alberta, Ontario, where virus has spiked recently
OTTAWA— Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is resuming inperson fundraising events this week after recovering from COVID-19, which he contracted after his last in-person fundraising tour.
O’Toole has 11 events scheduled in Alberta this week, including a luncheon and a breakfast, multiple meet and greets and two Q&A events hosted by Alberta businessman W. Brett Wilson.
He was scheduled to host a $1,600-a-head dinner at Toronto’s posh Albany Club early next week, but the event was converted to a virtual $1,000-ahead affair after Premier Doug Ford introduced COVID-19 restrictions in the city.
The Conservative leader contracted COVID-19 after a fundraising tour in Quebec last month, forcing him to sit out the opening days of the parliamentary session. His wife, Rebecca, also contracted COVID-19.
“The fact that a couple parts of the country right now, Ontario and Quebec, are peaking (in the number of cases), as MPs we have to not just adhere to the rules but to make sure we’re practising the highest standards and not exposing inadvertently other people,” O’Toole told the Star after his diagnosis, which he called a “wake-up call.”
Conservative party spokesperson Cory Hann told the Star Tuesday that the party is following all public health guidelines, and that all events will have a “significantly reduced number of attendees from their usual capacity limits to account for social distancing protocols.”
“We’ll of course continue to monitor all public health announcements out of the province, and will abide by any further recommendations made through those announcements or through our venue providers,” Hann wrote.
“We think it’s important to engage directly with Canadians when possible, and when proper safety protocols can be implemented, and we are taking every precaution we can to ensure that.”
The Liberal party said all “grassroots fundraising” efforts since the pandemic hit in March have been virtual — either over email, telephone, or online.
“All of the Liberal party’s work to connect with Canadians has required a new level of grassroots ingenuity to step up our organizing while keeping people safe,” wrote party spokesperson Braeden Caley in a statement.
The New Democrats have no public events listed on their website, and a party official told the Star that leader Jagmeet Singh has not held any in-person fundraising events in recent months.
While the situations in Ontario and Quebec have dominated most of the focus of COVID-19’s second wave so far, cases in Alberta have also been steadily increasing — with 2,615 active cases, including 240 new cases in the past day.
Alberta’s public health restrictions are also more relaxed than other parts of the country — a maximum of 50 people for indoor social gatherings, but no cap on the number of people inside venues like restaurants, bars, casinos and bingo halls.
“We have to … make sure we’re practising the highest standards and not exposing inadvertently other people.” ERIN O’TOOLE AFTER HE’D TESTED POSITIVE TO COVID-19