Liberal Leadership Fundraising Updates as Race to Become Next Prime Minister Heats Up

A spokesperson for Mark Carney’s campaign announced that his team has collected in excess of $1.9 million from over 11,000 individual contributors. The campaign, which is committed to regular financial reporting to the chief electoral officer in line with electoral rules, shared that its most recent update includes donations received until February 9.

Other candidates are also engaging their supporters in the fundraising effort. Chrystia Freeland’s campaign expressed optimism following several successful fundraisers, although specific numbers were not revealed. Meanwhile, Frank Baylis confirmed that his campaign has raised over $350,000 and met all required financial submissions as of the previous Friday, and Ruby Dhalla’s team reported strong fundraising outcomes even though they have yet to release official figures. Karina Gould’s campaign has not yet provided any response regarding its financial status.

The leadership race is entering its final three weeks, with the next prime minister to be chosen on March 9. Candidates must not only secure sufficient funds to cover a mandatory $350,000 entrance fee—constructed in installments with the final $125,000 due by Monday—but also adhere to spending limits of $5 million, excluding the entrance fee and other specified costs. All fundraising efforts are regulated under the Elections Canada Act, which prohibits accepting contributions from corporations, unions, or non-residents. Earlier fundraising figures in a similar race saw Justin Trudeau raise just over $2 million from approximately 10,500 individual donations during a leadership contest that began in 2012 and concluded in 2013.