Alberta NDP rakes in more donor cash than UCP in second quarter

The NDP has raised more money than the UCP for the first time since 2017. 

The opposition party says it had a strong quarter for fundraising and has almost pulled even with the UCP for the year. 

It's the first time the NDP has topped the donor-cash leaderboard since 2017, the year the UCP was formed and didn't start fundraising until the third quarter. 

Albertans gave $1,032,796.85 to the NDP in the past quarter, compared to $642,677.29 to the UCP. 

"I'm incredibly grateful for this powerful show of support for the work we are doing on behalf of Albertans," said NDP leader Rachel Notley.

Political scientist Lori Williams says she's not shocked by the results. She says the relationship the UCP currently has with doctors and teachers hasn't played well with Albertans, especially as those groups have been essential in responding to COVID-19. 

"On a number of fronts the provincial government is enjoying quite a bit of success, so it has to be explained in terms of the things they're doing to drive attention away from that and toward some of the more negative aspects of their governance," she said.

The UCP said in a statement the numbers are explained by the fact that the party suspended most fundraising activity out of respect for Albertans during the pandemic. 

"Unlike the NDP, our party did not see the early shock of the pandemic as a fundraising opportunity. Our party made the choice to not only slow down our fundraising, but stopped many of our activities, out of respect for our strong donor community," UCP president Ryan Becker said.

The UCP ended last year with a $2.3 million deficit, while the NDP finished the year with a surplus.