The Liberals’ and Conservatives’ second-quarter fundraising took a nosedive despite an election campaign period in its first month. Still, given the historic peaks both parties reported in the first three months of the year, they are already well on their way to surpassing—or have already—their totals for all of 2024 and every year prior.

While fundraising periods containing elections most often provide significant boosts to party coffers, the 45^th general election from March 23 through April 28 and the following two months pale in comparison to the three months leading up to the writs being issued. 

According to data published by Elections Canada, both the Liberals and Conservatives saw substantial downturns in their second-quarter fundraising from April 1 through June 30, compared to the first three months of 2025.

The Conservatives had the most severe decline quarter over quarter, raising just over $9-million in the second quarter of 2025, roughly one-third of the over $28-million it fundraised in the first three months of 2025. The party also reported a nearly 50-per-cent reduction in contributions, down from 148,676 donors to 83,681. In total, the Conservatives raised just over $37-million from 148,676 contributions in the first six months of 2025, just shy of their total for all of 2024, when they raised $42.2-million from 211,255 individual contributions, and well over every prior year’s total.

According to the Conservatives’ 2024 financial returns, the party also raised an additional $5-million in membership dues, for a total yearly revenue of $48.5-million, against slightly less $50-million in total expenses, a deficit of $1.47-million. The Conservatives ended last year with just shy of $16-million “cash on hand,” and just over $9.3-million in net assets. Additionally, since his election to the role three years ago this fall, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has led the party to successive record-breaking yearly fundraising totals, reporting excess revenues of $3.9-million and $11.58-million in 2023 and 2022, respectively. 

Only the Conservatives and the People’s Party submitted their 2024 financials by the initial June 30 deadline, with the remaining parties given extensions of 30-90 days. The Green Party was given until Aug. 14, the Liberals and NDP until Aug. 29, and the Bloc Québécois until Sept. 29.

While representing a much smaller reduction in fundraising totals, the Liberal Party’s $7.6-million haul is a nearly 50-per-cent drop from the $13-million it raised during the first quarter of the year, buoyed primarily by the leadership race that led to the victory of Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) during that period. 

The Liberals’ first-quarter total also represented a massive increase to the its average of roughly $3-million to $5-million in non-election quarter fundraising. In the first six months of 2025, the party has already brought in more than every previous year’s annual total outside of the 2019 and 2015 election years. The Liberals also reported more individual contributions than the Conservatives for the second quarter in a row, with 116,125 donors in the second quarter, and a combined total of 272,614 individual contributions in 2025, compared to the 118,238 the party received last year.

The Bloc Québécois also reported a slight dip in fundraising. However, the Bloc has slightly more individual contributions quarter over quarter, raising $674,591 from 4,502 individual contributions, bringing the party’s six-month total to just over $1.43-million.  

The only two parties to increase their quarter-over-quarter fundraising totals were the NDP and Green Party. 

The New Democrats, led by Jagmeet Singh until his resignation on election night and now helmed by interim leader Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.), raised just over $1.9-million from 38,149 total contributions between April 1 and June 30, a slight increase from the $1.8-million raised from 37,538 total contributions during the first three months of 2025. The NDP’s six-month total of $3.7-million puts it on pace to surpass its 2024 total of just over $6.2-million from 211,255 contributions. 

The Green Party’s second-quarter total of just over $1-million from 14,512 contributions is slightly up from the $804,730 from 5,181 individual contributions, and places it just shy of its 12-month totals for the past three years.

Fundraising a ‘vote of confidence’ in the leaders, but Conservatives may question return on investment, say strategists

Conservative strategist Cole Hogan, who has worked on provincial election campaigns for Ontario Premier Doug Ford and then-Alberta premier Jason Kenney, told The Hill Times that, at first glance, the second quarter fundraising appears to have “fallen off a cliff.” Still, that downward slope is only as significant as the “mind-blowing” peak in the previous quarter. 

“The Conservatives had a nearly $15-million advantage heading into the election … that’s a massive vote of confidence,” Hogan said, noting that most party donors would have also been confident the election was imminent several weeks before the March 23 call.

While less significant, the Liberals’ spike in first-quarter donations is also a demonstration of the base’s confidence in its new leader, and willingness to put a significant amount of money on the line heading into the election.

Even given the Liberals’ rebound in polling after the resignation of then-prime minister Justin Trudeau and Carney’s successful leadership bid, “it was never a given they would win this thing, and the Liberals didn’t sit on their hands when it came to voting or donating,” Hogan said.

Additionally, Hogan said that both parties’ totals would have represented pre-election “war footing” in any previous year, and could represent their new elevated baseline and a narrowing of the gap between them.

“I would still give the edge to the Conservatives, but the Liberals’ numbers in dollars and contributions are further evidence of the new coalition of members, and potentially voters Carney has access to,” Hogan explained.   

Liberal strategist Greg MacEachern, a former ministerial staffer and now founding principal with KAN Strategies, told The Hill Times that in the upcoming months and years, it will be important for Carney to ensure the party maintains the energy built up before and during the general election, as well as keeping up with the rapidly changing digital tools to reach its newly energized supporters and their wallets.

“An election inspires a lot of people to get involved and donate, but you have to stay on top of that and continue to build,” MacEachern explained. “The prime minister is polling extremely well right now, but this is still a minority government, and you always want to be prepared for a rainy day.” 

Conversely, while the Conservatives’ fundraising total remains impressive, MacEachern said the more interesting numbers are how much is left. 

“I’d be curious to know what the average Conservative donor thinks of their party spending so much money before the election even started, given their return on investment,” MacEachern said, pointing to the Conservatives’ deficit spending in 2024. 

While the federal parties’ campaign expenses won’t be published until early next year, the Conservatives spent more than $3.38-million on Meta ads alone during the five-week election period, just behind the Liberals’ $4.7-million. 

“Conservatives were very eager to support Poilievre when he was leading in the polls and bringing in record fundraising, but when they’re so far behind in the polls, if the fundraising stops hitting the gangbusters that it was in 2024, that’s going to hurt,” MacEachern said.

Anne McGrath, the NDP’s former national director and campaign spokesperson during the last election, told The Hill Times that while both the Liberals and the NDP did better than she expected, the problem for Poilievre is that his supporters’ expectations may already be much higher.

“The Conservatives were rolling in cash for a few years, but that could be stalling out,” said McGrath, noting that while the Liberals’ floor may have risen, Poilievre may have reached the ceiling of the fundraising growth he can offer his party.

If fundraising continues to decline in the current quarter—covering July 1 through Sept. 30—or even larger deficits when the Conservatives’ election expenses are published, it could further damage Poilievre’s chances of remaining leader.

“The Conservatives spent millions and millions of dollars running campaigns trying to take down their opponents and improve their leader’s image, but maybe they might want to start spending it on other things,” McGrath said.

However, Hogan disagrees, as he doesn’t believe the drop in post-election fundraising, or even how much it spent during the election, will be a significant consideration leading into Poilievre’s leadership review.  

“I don’t think anyone will be able to question his leadership based on a post-election dip in fundraising, especially after consecutive record-high numbers in every quarter before that,” Hogan said, adding that Poilievre retains “a lot of leeway” with the party’s membership.

“The membership believes Poilievre put up the best fight possible,” Hogan explained. “I think they still believe he’s the closest thing they’ve had to representing their real interests since [former prime minister Stephen] Harper.”

The federal parties are required to report third-quarter fundraising by Oct. 30 and their financial returns for the 45^th general election by Dec. 29, according to Elections Canada’s political financing calendar.

sbenson@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

Federal party quarterly fundraising, 2025

 

Stuart Benson began covering Parliament Hill in early 2022, reporting on political party apparatuses and fundraising, policing and public safety, women and youth, marijuana, heritage, the Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party. He is also The Hill Times’ regular Party Central columnist. Benson previously covered local news and municipal politics at The Low Down to Hull and Back News in Wakefield, Que., where he began his professional journalism career in February 2020. He also won a Quebec Community Newspaper Award in 2021 for Best News Story and Best Agricultural Story, as well as winning a Canadian Community Newspaper award for Best Campus News story in 2020. See all stories BY STUART BENSON