As hopeful candidates gather, Conservative party amends spending cap
Amid the news-grabbing political race of Canada’s neighbours to the south, the Conservative Party of Canada is gearing up for their own leadership race here at home. The leadership race, following the removal of the Harper government last October, began on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, with some new changes to how the race is run.
The last leadership race for the Conservative party occurred in 2004, with the election of former prime minister, Stephen Harper. The principle changes that are being implemented during this election race concern the entrance fee to the leadership race, and the maximum budget that hopeful leaders can spend in their bid to become the next Conservative party leader.
Conservative hopefuls need to pay a registration fee of $50,000, and a refundable $50,000 compliancy deposit to secure a spot in the leadership contest. The purpose of the compliancy deposit is to make sure that all potential leaders conduct themselves in a manner that is in line with the beliefs and attitudes of the Conservative Party of Canada. The larger change in the leadership race regards the maximum financial amount that candidates can spend on their campaigns. Each contestant can now spend up to a maximum of $5 million in their bid to secure leadership. This number is staggering compared to the $950,000 limit for the Liberal party during their last race in 2013, and the $500,000 limit from the NDP’s 2012 leadership race.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…can now spend up to a maximum of $5 million…[/pullquote]
Popular Conservative Party members have commented about the massive increase in available spending.
“That’s a lot of money for individual people to raise, but I don’t know; it’s been a long time since we’ve done this, so we’ll see how it unfolds,” said former Conservative transport minister Lisa Raitt, in a March 9, 2016 statement.
This is the first Conservative leadership election since the Harper government introduced the Fair Elections Act in 2014. Before 2014, Elections Canada enforced a firm $25,000 spending limit for potential leaders to spend on their own campaigns. Donations from outside supporters were limited to $1,525.
With these limits now rescinded, hopeful contestants can pour far more money into their own campaigns, an idea that Quebec MP Gerard Deltell is advising against.
“I think if someone spends too much it will be criticized,” Deltell told the Globe and Mail, in a March 6, 2016 interview. “We are conservative. We are very careful about money. So I don’t think the one that will spend the most has an advantage.”
The new leader for the Conservative Party of Canada will not be decided until May 27, 2017. Contestants have until Feb. 24, 2017, to secure a spot in the race, leaving plenty of time to secure supporters and funding to become the next Conservative Party leader.