CAQ leads rivals in fundraising forward of Quebec election marketing campaign

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The Coalition Avenir Québec celebration is dominating its rivals in fundraising and within the polls — days earlier than the province’s fall election marketing campaign is scheduled to start.

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The CAQ has raised $928,562 from 7,377 donors for the reason that starting of 2022, Élections Québec mentioned Wednesday. That places the celebration nearly $300,000 forward of its nearest rival, the Parti Québécois, which has raised $654,150 from 6,248 donors for the reason that starting of the yr.

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Eric Montigny, a political science professor at Université Laval, mentioned it isn’t a shock the governing celebration has raised essentially the most cash.

“There are extra members of the legislature, so there’s extra group, which makes it simpler to boost cash,” he mentioned in an interview Wednesday.

Whereas the PQ is second for donations, it’s presently polling in fifth place.

André Lamoureux, a political science lecturer on the Université du Québec à Montréal, mentioned that regardless that assist for the PQ has declined in current elections, it nonetheless has a powerful group. Occasion supporters, Lamoureux mentioned, are typically devoted and engaged.

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“They’re usually activists who know politics and who additionally give to their celebration,” he mentioned in an interview Wednesday, describing the follow of donating to the celebration as a “custom” for PQ supporters.

The Liberal Occasion of Quebec — presently polling in second place — has raised $324,020, the bottom quantity among the many province’s 5 essential events. The Liberals even have the fewest donors: 2,381 — lower than half the variety of donors who contributed to another celebration.

Montigny mentioned the Liberals have been harm by Quebec’s strict election financing legal guidelines. Since 2013, particular person donations have been capped at $100 per celebration, per yr, with an extra $100 donation allowed throughout election years. Company and union donations are banned.

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Earlier than that, Montigny mentioned the Liberals counted on fewer donors than the PQ, however tended to obtain bigger contributions.

Maxime Doyon-Laliberté, a Liberal spokesperson, mentioned in an e mail the celebration is taking a decentralized method to fundraising, with native celebration associations elevating cash of their ridings.

“We’re in an election yr, the groups with our candidates have gotten increasingly lively on this space,” he mentioned Wednesday, including that the celebration has the price range to marketing campaign “on the degree of our ambitions.”

Québec solidaire, a left-of-centre celebration, has raised $560,693 from 4,663 donors.

The Conservative Occasion of Quebec, in the meantime, has essentially the most donors out of the 5 events with seats within the legislature — 9,120 — however the smallest common donation, giving the celebration a complete of $517,078. The Conservatives had been additionally the one celebration to see the variety of donors rise from 2021 to 2022. Final yr, 7,000 folks gave $310,112.

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The Conservatives noticed assist rise with their opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, Lamoureux mentioned, including that supporters are prepared to provide cash to the celebration.

Premier François Legault has mentioned he plans to formally launch the election marketing campaign on Sunday, with the vote scheduled for Oct. 3.

Because the legislature broke for the summer season, the CAQ had 76 seats, whereas the Liberals had 27, Québec solidaire had 10 and the Parti Québécois had seven. The Conservative Occasion of Quebec held one seat and there have been 4 Independents.