Strategists say the leaders of the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties will face pressure to maintain enthusiasm as convention excitement and snap-election expectations wanes.
When there’s no threat of an election on the horizon, political fundraising is tough.
Presented as a ‘security measure,’ Bill C-25 would scrap rules requiring parties to release advance notices for fundraising events and disclose the events’ locations, in what one critic says creates an ‘after-the-fact model of oversight.’
The 45-page bill includes measures intended to rein in foreign election interference, outlaw dodgy political donations, rename electoral districts, and kneecap the Longest Ballot protest movement.
‘The NDP comeback has begun,’ says leadership candidate Avi Lewis, who says his campaign has raised over $1-million, and has more than doubled his next closest competitor as of December 2025.
The ‘all-in’ bet on Pierre Poilievre’s August byelection campaign paid off, but the 24-to-1 fundraising deficit to his right-flank reveals an ‘undercurrent’ that could snowball if left unchecked, says Liberal strategist Dan Arnold.
Considering the Liberals are still basking in their electoral triumph from earlier this year and seeing how they’re still doing relatively well in the polls, you might think they’d have an easy time right now raising money from their donors.
Liberal strategist Dan Arnold says ‘money follows enthusiasm’ as waning donations contradict all parties’ election-ready posturing.
Despite quarterly fundraising falling to levels unseen since 2022, the Liberals’ overall $23.7-million and the Conservatives’ $41.6-million take for 2025 already represent historic records for their respective parties.
From Rockcliffe to Rosedale: Carney’s campaign received over $5-million from more than 25,000 donations during the 45-day Liberal leadership race, and nearly half a million dollars came from just five neighbourhoods.
According to Elections Canada, Carney’s campaign raised just more than $5-million from more than 25,000 donations over the 45-day Liberal leadership race.
The Liberals’ $2.3-million in digital-focused ads in 2024 demonstrates the lack of confidence the party had in its previous leader and message, says EOK Consults’ Harneet Singh.
Federal party second-quarter fundraising dipped from a historic pre-election peak but both the Conservatives’ $37.4-million and Liberals’ $21.2-million six-month totals have nearly or already surpassed their entire 2024 hauls.
Things are dreary for the NDP, which makes it extremely difficult for the party’s fundraisers to convince donors to generously open their wallets. It’s hard to persuade people to invest in a sinking ship.
The federal Conservative Party was one of only five registered parties to report its 2024 financial statement by the June 30 deadline, while the NDP and Liberal figures won’t be ready until the end of August.
A new group is encouraging donors to support local riding associations, intending to divert five to 10 per cent of funds away from the national party to ‘send upper management a message.’
One of the key principles of fundraising is that you don’t give your donor base a chance to relax, which is to say, you don’t ease up on pestering them for cash. You need to keep asking for money on a steady and consistent basis, even if that means annoying donors.
Despite raising less than half of the Conservatives’ first-quarter fundraising total, the Liberals were buoyed to a party-best of $13.7-million with more than 90 per cent of donors giving less than $200.
All the candidates fared the best at fundraising in Ontario, with 54 per cent of Mark Carney’s cash coming from the province and 68 per cent for runner-up Chrystia Freeland.
The Conservative Party of Canada continues to raise more money than all of its federal competitors combined.
Raising $41-million in 2024, the Conservatives broke the all-time Canadian fundraising record for the second year in a row, and outpaced their rivals’ combined totals.
Alongside a $350,000 registration fee, the Liberal Party will take a 25 per cent cut of all leadership campaign donations over $500,000.
With another $3.32-million in the bank this quarter, the Liberals have ‘money to play with,’ but they can’t afford to waste it on ineffective ads, says Conservative strategist Cole Hogan.
The Liberals have officially registered all 343 new electoral district associations, while as of Aug. 23, the Conservatives had registered 270, the NDP 237, and the Green Party 135.
Even though the next election is likely over a year away, the Conservatives have been running their fundraising machine at full throttle.
