Notley's Opposition NDP doubles UCP'S total in first-quarter fundraising
Alberta's NDP significantly outpaced the United Conservative Party in fundraising during the first quarter of 2021, according to new numbers released by Elections Alberta on Friday.
The UCP pulled in $591,597 between Jan. 1 and March 31, just under half of the $1,186,245 in contributions collected by the Opposition New Democrats. The numbers include donations made to constituency associations.
It's a significant gap between the parties, one that comes after the NDP outearned the UCP by only about $15,000 in 2020.
It also marks more than a 50 per cent fundraising dip for the UCP from the first quarter of 2020, when the party brought in about $1.25 million.
Speaking to reporters Friday, NDP Leader Rachel Notley thanked Albertans who donated to the party. She said her party saw about 3,000 first-time donors in the quarter.
She argued the fundraising dip seen by the UCP is evidence the party is struggling to connect with Albertans.
“(The) disconnect with the actual experience of Albertans is driving a great deal of frustration, and I think that folks are looking for a government that will truly respond to their needs in an unprecedented time,” Notley said.
“We're a long way from an election. I think that what we need to have is some open robust debate that is honest and really addresses the challenges the province is facing, and I look forward to continuing to do that.”
In a statement, UCP party president Ryan Becker said the party had dialed back its fundraising efforts in light of public-health restrictions early this year meant to combat the spread of COVID -19 in Alberta.
He pledged fundraising outreach would recover later in the year as the party prepares for the next provincial election in two years.
“We remain incredibly grateful for the generous support of conservatives from right across the province with nearly $600,000 raised for the party and our constituency associations,” he said.
“We are saving resources towards our Campaign Victory Fund now and believe that with a successful vaccine rollout around the corner, we can start revving up our election readiness and fundraising machine later this year to PRECOVID levels as we build towards the 2023 election.”
The UCP came under political fire throughout the first quarter of 2021, including from the “Aloha-gate” travel scandal at the start of the year. That situation saw nine senior UCP officials, including six MLAS, vacation out of the country over the holidays against their own government's COVID -19 travel advisories. After facing backlash for initially defending the travellers, Premier Jason Kenney announced all MLAS involved lost their cabinet positions or legislature committee responsibilities, while other staff lost their jobs.
The travel scandal undoubtedly had an impact on fundraising numbers, according to Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, but so does a growing frustration around COVID-19 restrictions.
Williams said the decline in donations parallels the UCP'S drop in the polls, with some recently showing the NDP with a lead. The trends demonstrate a voter base that's growing increasingly fractured, she said, with losses coming from all areas of the province.
“They're angry. They feel betrayed. This letter that we saw penned by 90-some constituency association leaders spoke of what essentially amounts to a betrayal of trust. That's a very difficult thing, so this is a test of the leadership,” Williams said.
“We're not just talking about a lack of support in Edmonton. We're now talking about a growth of opposition to the premier in Calgary. We're getting dissension from rural Alberta, which is normally a stronghold.”
The first months of 2021 also saw some anger from within the United Conservative caucus, Williams said, with one-quarter of the party's MLAS signing a joint letter decrying public-health restrictions, the day after Kenney reintroduced measures as the third wave of COVID-19 grew.
“We might start to see some movement — not just from voters looking for somewhere else to go, but we're probably also looking at a number of MLAS will be looking at where they can go,” Williams said, suggesting Alberta's conservative movement could once again splinter.
“Then, the whole question of uniting the right really comes into play.”