TORONTO -- Ontario's Progressive Conservatives fundraised more money than the Liberals and NDP in the first quarter of 2017, and despite restrictive new rules, they even beat their own first-quarter total from last year.
New rules kicked in Jan. 1 banning corporate and union donations, prohibiting politicians from attending fundraising events and lowering the maximum donation amount. That has forced the main political parties to think beyond the oft-used pricey fundraising dinner with a big-name politician in order to entice donors.
According to donations filed with Elections Ontario up to the end of March, the Progressive Conservatives -- who are leading in the polls -- raised more than double the amounts brought in by the Liberals and NDP.
The Tories raised about $141,000, which is more than the approximately $80,000 they raised in the first quarter of 2016, though it's highly unlikely they'll be able to match the $12.6 million in total they raised that year.
That total included more than $9 million the party raised during three byelection periods -- which is no longer allowed.
The new rules also cap individual contributions to a registered party at $1,200, or $3,600 in an election year.
The NDP raised about $62,000 in the first quarter of this year -- compared to about $317,000 in the same time period last year -- and the Liberals raised about $61,000 this year, compared to more than half a million dollars in the first quarter of 2016.
Under the new rules, the parties also get per-vote subsidies to help them stay afloat in at least the first few years without corporate and union donations. The Liberals will get $5.1 million in 2017, while the Tories will get $4.1 million and the NDP will get $3.1 million.
That money means low fundraising amounts don't spell the end of those political parties, but all have their eyes set on the 2018 provincial election and are trying to shore up the biggest war chests they can.
"It is a new fundraising reality and I think everybody's working out what strategy works under the new rules," said deputy premier Deb Matthews, who is also a co-chair of the Liberals' 2018 campaign.
"It significantly changes the traditional way of doing it, so we're having to experiment and find other ways."
The Liberals are moving more to online fundraising, as well as soliciting donations through the phone and email, she said, which are still allowed under the new rules. Politicians are also still allowed to hold ticketed events, but the price of the ticket can only recover the cost of putting on the event. Matthews calls those "friendraisers."
The Tories too are focusing more on phone calls and emails, said leader Patrick Brown.
"Last year I attended a significant amount of fundraisers and obviously now that's not the case, so it changes how you can fundraise," he said. "Limiting cash for access, I think it's a good practice for the province of Ontario. It was overdue but it was the right thing."
The NDP is the only one of the three major parties that was unable to use the last gasp of Ontario's former fundraising rules to gather enough money to wipe out its debt from the 2014 election. But the party has traditionally relied on smaller donations from a larger number of people, which all parties will now have to do.
"I think a lot of experts say that is the best type of fundraising in general, having a wider pool of smaller donations, and that's something we're very well suited to," said deputy NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
