NDP continues to lead fundraising, Greens lose ground

The Green Party pulled in $70,000 less in donations in 2019 compared to 2018, receiving $643,000 last year — the only one of the province’s major parties to see its fundraising numbers fall.

The NDP received about $400,000 more in donations last year, for a total of $3.7 million, while the Liberals raised around $600,000 more than 2019 for a total of $2.9 million.
 
The provincial per-vote subsidy — which last year paid $2.25 for every vote the party received in 2017 — added about $1.8 million to the NDP and Liberal coffers, taking the parties to $5.5 million and $4.7 million respectively. The Greens received $747,745, pushing their fundraising total to $1.4 million.
 
The first per-vote-subsidy payment for 2020 — $2 per vote — was doled out in January. The NDP received $795,527, the Liberals $797,194 and the Greens $332,331. A second, nearly identical, installment will be made in July.

NDP sees highest proportion of small donors
More than 15,200 British Columbians donated to the NDP in 2019, and 11,200 donated $250 or less. Small donors accounted for about 43 per cent of the governing party’s fundraising total.
 
The Liberals received more than 11,000 donations. While 7,680 donors gave $250 or less, about 80 per cent of the party’s total fundraising take came from the 3,393 donors who gave more than $250.

The Greens also raised most of their funding from donations over $250. Just over 3,300 people donated to the party last year.

In 2019, donations were capped at $1,225; this year, the cap is $1,253.15 per person.
 
BC NDP grew war chest in 2019 while Liberals continued to rebuild
After finishing 2018 with just $250,000 cash-in-hand, the BC Liberal Party ended 2019 on a much sounder financial footing with a $1.6-million surplus, according to annual financial reports released by Elections BC yesterday.

The BC Green Party finished 2019 with a $1.3-million surplus — up from $1 million in 2018 — while the BC NDP grew its $5.2-million surplus into $6.7 million by the end of last year.
 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parties were given an extra month to file their annual financials. Twenty-three parties filed ahead of the April 30 deadline while two were granted extensions “due to extenuating circumstances.” The BC Conservative Party has been given until June 1 to file while the neophyte BC Ecosocialists Party is required to file by May 8.