Boisclair threatens legal action
Former PQ leader André Boisclair is threatening legal action against CAQ MNA Jacques Duchesneau unless he retracts statements suggesting past cocaine use left Boisclair vulnerable to being pressured to hand out government funds.
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The Parti Québécois is winning the war for political financial contributions, the annual report of the province’s chief electoral officer shows.
And the once powerful Quebec Liberal fundraising machine has seen a dramatic drop, with the party experiencing the biggest slide in the number and value of contributions since 2008.
The findings are included in the annual report for 2012 of Quebec’s chief electoral officer tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
With rumours of a potential fall election swirling, the report reveals the PQ is ahead of the game in creating a financial war chest.
Between 2011 and 2012, the PQ saw its political contributions from citizens increase by 49.6 per cent, rising to $3,737,657 from $2,498,029.
The money came from 23,795 individual donors, an increase of 40 per cent compared with 2011, and almost twice as many electors as gave to the Liberals.
For the same period, donations to Quebec’s Liber-
Contributions from citizens to the Parti Québécois rose 49.6 per cent between
2011 and 2012.
als dropped by 18.3 per cent, sliding to $3,075,038 from $3,765,469. The number of donors also fell, to 12,113 in 2012 from 16,814 in 2011.
The third big party, the Coalition Avenir Québec, collected a total of $1.9 million from 8,734 voters. Surprisingly, the small left-wing party, Québec solidaire, collected $963,000 from 6,911 electors.
The shift in fundraising reflects changes in the political financing laws adopted in December 2010. The first reform lowered the maximum contribution an individual can make to a party to $1,000 from $3,000.
To make up for the revenue loss, the state’s contribution was increased to 82 cents a vote from 50 cents. A second reform reduced the contribution limit to $100 from $1,000 starting Jan. 1, 2013.
One reason the PQ is raking in more cash is because it has a stronger tradition of small donations from devoted sovereignists.
The Liberals, on the other hand, have been traditionally financed by business interests, with a few individuals contributing the former maximum amount.