Tory coffers robust heading into election

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This article was published 14/04/2023 (878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Donors to Manitoba Progressive Conservatives kept the cash flowing last year despite the party and its leader being plagued by poor polling.

The Tories pulled in $1.422 million in donations in 2022, financial statements published by Elections Manitoba Friday show.

The fundraising haul dropped slightly compared to 2021, when the PC party reported $1.423 million in cash donations.

Despite the dip, the governing party outpaced its closest competitor when it came to soliciting funds.

The NDP listed $1.356 million in cash donations last year, which was the best non-election fundraising year in its history.

The latest Probe Research Inc. survey, conducted for the Free Press after the Tories’ tax-cutting budget, showed a slight bump in approval for the PCs, but they remained behind the NDP in seat-rich Winnipeg.

The poll showed the NDP would receive the support of 44 per cent of decided voters compared to 38 per cent for the Tories.

Party president Brent Pooles said the PCs are celebrating a “record year” for fundraising, when accounting for all of the income it raised in the past year. More than $1.2 million came from donations of $250 or more.

Poole boasted about the solid financial footing at the start of the party’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg on Friday. About 1,300 supporters were scheduled to gather for a sold-out gala dinner Saturday night to kick off the weekend.

“We’re really excited about this weekend, moving forward with our premier and where we’re going to be in October,” he said.

In 2022, the Tories reported $1.58 million in expenses. The party spent $513,833 on “other professional services,” which Pooles explained did not include costs related to the lawsuit launched by leadership candidate Shelley Glover over the 2021 leadership race results.

Rather, the money was spent on information technology expenses and hiring people for the leadership contest.

The PCs also spent $105,682 on opinion polling and market research, and $520,769 on salaries and honorarium.

As a result, the party posted a year-end surplus of $651,564, behind the NDP’s $997,234.

Pooles said that difference is not a disappointment heading into an election campaign.

“We have lots of time to go, and we have a huge dinner this weekend, and I expect that we’ll surpass the NDP when the time comes,” Pooles said.

Among many notable and major donors to the party was Armik Babakhanians, the owner of Caspian Construction.

Last year, a judge found former City of Winnipeg chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl had accepted a bribe from Babakhanians. Sheegl was ordered to pay the city nearly $1.1 million. He denies the allegations and is appealing the decision.

In 2018, the City of Winnipeg filed a statement of claim to seek damages for alleged construction deficiencies at the Winnipeg Police headquarters from Caspian Projects and structural engineering consultant Adjeleian Allen Rubeli.

Last month, city council accepted a settlement that will result in the City of Winnipeg receiving at least $21.5 million.

Babakhanians made a $2,000 donation to the PCs, according to party records.

Other major donations came from the Borger family (founders of development and heavy construction business Ladco Company Inc.), John and Bonnie Buhler, former premier Gary Filmon, and Walter Daudrich, a former Conservative Party of Canada candidate.

Premier Heather Stefanson donated the maximum $5,000 to the party, as did Government Services Minister James Teitsma.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca