The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is boasting the best non-election fundraising year in its history.

The Opposition’s 2022 annual return, filed March 31 to Elections Manitoba, listed $1.356 million in donations, with $1.1 million coming from donations of more than $250.

Even amidst election years, it’s an especially high number — the party’s third-best overall.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said members aren’t celebrating just yet.

“We won’t celebrate anything so long as there’s work left to do to try and earn the support of Manitobans in this year’s election,” Kinew said Monday.

“When we put out (the news) release, I think what we were trying to convey to Manitobans is that we’re a serious political organization with the goal of earning your support in this election year.”

The NDP ended 2022 with a $1-million surplus.

City of Winnipeg councillors listed in the document — which names any person who donated more than $250 — include Ross Eadie, Sherri Rollins (who announced and later bowed out of a bid for the Liberal nomination to replace late MP Jim Carr earlier this year), Cindy Gilroy, Jason Schreyer (whose father, former premier Ed Schreyer, was the leader of the provincial NDP from 1969-79) and Russ Wyatt.

Other donors include inner-city advocate Sel Burrows, former Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 leader Romeo Ignacio, 2022 Winnipeg mayoral candidate Shaun Loney, and two of Manitoba’s three NDP members of Parliament: Daniel Blaikie and Leah Gazan.

Kinew said the year brought an influx of new donors, mixed in with long-time supporters who increased their contribution totals.

“We’ve been relying on those tried-and-true fundraising techniques of years past, while also adding more of the digital tools that modern fundraising operations use today — but I think the fundamental reason that we had a successful year is that people are frustrated with the PCs,” he said.

New donations often pour in when a political party looks promising in the public eye, said University of Manitoba adjunct professor in political studies Christopher Adams.

“I think people, for the past year, have had an election on their mind. And I think there’s a sense among many people that the NDP is poised to win the next election, so that always brings supporters and volunteers out of the woods,” he said Monday.

“So I’m not surprised to hear that their financial report shows them as doing well.”

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba has yet to file its 2022 return.

The due date was March 31, but it had requested an extension until April 14.

Adams said it’s unclear if the PC fundraising will show similar highs.

While they typically maintain a core group of supporters who stick with the party through good and bad times, consistent polling data showing the Tories in a slump may have impacted fundraising, he said. “There are a number of question marks as to whether their membership has stayed with them.”

A recent Free Press-commissioned poll of 1,000 Manitobans showed the NDP has the support of 44 per cent of respondents; the PCs were at 38 per cent.

The Manitoba Liberal Party has filed for an April 14 extension with Elections Manitoba — as have the Green Party of Manitoba, Keystone Party, Communist Party of Canada (Manitoba), and the Manitoba Party.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca