January 31, 2014 - 10:53 AM
OTTAWA - Conservatives are still king of the federal fundraising hill, but Liberals are moving up fast.
The parties' final financial reports for the fourth quarter of 2013 have now been posted on Elections Canada's website.
Combined with the previous quarterly reports, the numbers show the gap between the Conservative and Liberal fundraising has narrowed substantially.
The Tories raked in $18.2 million last year, up five per cent from the previous year.
The Liberals pulled in $11.6 million, up a whopping 42 per cent.
The NDP, meanwhile, collected $8.2 million, up six per cent.
In 2012, the Conservatives raised more money than the Liberals and New Democrats combined — as they've done consistently since 2004, when corporate and union donations to political parties were banned and individual donations were severely restricted.
For the first time last year, the two opposition parties together raised more money than the Tories.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014