Donations from auto dealers help promote Kenney’s cause
A provincial election is months away, but plenty of activity surrounding third-party advertisers is occurring. Case in point? Twenty-six auto dealerships have donated $170,000 to support the cause of UCP leader Jason Kenney, with the money going to Shaping Alberta’s Future, a third-party advertiser.
Jason Kenney loves his big blue pickup. In return, auto dealers love Jason Kenney.
Twenty-six Alberta car and truck car dealerships have donated a total of $170,000 to the UCP leader’s cause in the past three months.
The Motor Dealers Association of Alberta (MDA) also pledged $100,000 that hasn’t been donated yet.
The money goes to Shaping Alberta’s Future, a newly registered third-party advertiser with the sole declared purpose of crushing the NDP and electing Kenney.
It’s been increasingly active in recent days, with attack ads against the NDP on radio, TV, billboards, Facebook and other social media.
Shaping Alberta’s Future is getting rich fast. In three months since it was registered, it has raised a total of $375,000, including the auto industry funding.
All perfectly legal. These groups can collect as much as they like.
Registered union and progressive advertisers work just as hard for left-wing money, but with far less success, judging by disclosures to Elections Alberta.
Starting Dec. 1 the advertisers can only spend $150,000 until the election writ is dropped next spring. During the 28-day campaign, they can use another $150,000.
But until Dec. 1, there’s no limit. Shaping Alberta’s Future appears to be sluicing out the dollars before the cap is imposed, hoping to set the election tone early.
David Wasyluk, the executive director of Shaping Alberta, says he’s delighted with the cash gusher being donated to beat the NDP.
There’s no special relationship with the auto dealership owners, he adds. But he knows how unhappy they are with the NDP.
Kenney has been meeting interest and lobby groups all over Alberta. His spokesperson, Christine Myatt, says he listens to policy ideas but doesn’t make promises.
And yet, the car dealers clearly expect him to act on their behalf.
In April, MDA president Denis Ducharme, after speaking to Kenney on the phone, sent out a newsletter criticizing NDP laws that increase fees for the industry, as well as government control.
He wrote: “It is Mr. Kenney’s plan to receive these concerns prior to May 15, 2018. His UCP team will review and prepare changes prior to the next provincial election.
“Once elected as the new Alberta Government, they can implement change immediately rather than having consultations which would delay change by up to two years.”
Myatt disputes that conclusion.
“Soliciting policy proposals from stakeholders does not equal a promise to act and Mr. Kenney has made no such promise to the MDA,” she says.
Kenney met personally with the MDA board Sept. 6. Afterward, MDA chair Andrew Robinson sent a detailed letter to dealers. He said that in regard to recent revisions to the Labour code, Occupation Health and Safety, and Workers’ Compensation, “all the recent changes to these three areas will be cancelled.”
Again, UCP spokesperson Myatt says that was never promised. “The UCP and its legacy parties (PCs and Wildrose) did in fact support elements of the NDP bills on these matters, including common sense updates to the Employment Standards Code,” she says.
What is clear is that Kenney made a spirited pitch for money.
After Kenney left the Sept. 6 meeting, the MDA board voted the $100,000 contribution, and urged every dealership to contribute $5,000 each.
Overall, the MDA set a goal of $1 million for Kenney.
Cheques were to be sent to the MDA Edmonton office, payable to Shaping Alberta’s Future.
Elections Alberta published the first disclosure of the actual contributions Monday. It’s kind of breathtaking.
Calgary’s GM dealership group — CMP Automotive Limited — contributed $30,000. Ten dealerships from Taber to Calgary came up with $10,000 each. Car and truck sellers all over the province coughed up $5,000.
This is old-time Alberta money politics. It may be no coincidence that Ducharme, the MDA president, was a three-term Progressive Conservative MLA in the Ralph Klein era.
What’s happening is an inevitable reaction to NDP reform of election laws.
Corporate and union contributions to political parties are now banned. Individuals can only donate $4,000 a year, and parties are limited to spending $2 million each during a campaign.
Corporate cash now has no place to go — except a friendly third-party advertiser.
Fifteen are registered now, from left, right and centre.
We’ll see more before the election.
They could have a bigger impact than anybody imagined.
And it may not stop on voting day. The third-party groups that raise cash successfully, and find wealthy patrons, could soon be as potent as U.S.-style Political Action Committees.