Big donors, slow disclosure bring back 'Wild West' to Calgary election campaigns

More than two years after Calgary's last municipal election, it seems provincial efforts to modernize local campaign financing remain controversial.

There is more paperwork for participants. And greater transparency for voters is there. But other legislation — Alberta's freedom of information law — was needed to actually get it.

Last week, CBC News reported that it took a directive from Alberta's information and privacy commissioner to get the City of Calgary to release the full list of donors to third-party advertisers (TPAs) that were active in the 2021 municipal election. And that decision occurred only because the CBC had to file a freedom of information request for that disclosure, and fought the city's initial resistance.

The donor lists reveal who was behind the 176 financial contributions to eight registered TPAs, how much they gave and when. The disclosures mirror the documents that municipalities release after elections about donations to candidates.

But candidates' financial data was publicly released five months after the 2021 election. The city redacted the identities of donors listed on the TPA disclosures, citing privacy concerns and other exemptions under the freedom of information legislation, until the privacy commissioner directed officials to undo the redactions.

Under provincial rules, only individuals can contribute to political candidates, with donations capped at $5,000. Campaigns are barred from accepting corporate and union donations.

However, individuals, companies or unions can donate up to $30,000 to a TPA, which is a group allowed to advertise for and against candidates or issues but cannot directly co-ordinate with candidates' campaigns.

And that's exactly what the full list of donors — now available long after the 2021 election — lays out for all to see.

You can read the lists of donors for all eight TPAs here:

For one political operative, it's almost like the days before provincial financing rules for local elections were put in place in recent years.. 

Back then, municipal votes were considered the "Wild West of politics" when it came to fundraising. There were locally set bylaws on financial disclosure, but they were among Canada's weakest.

Stephen Carter, president of Decide Campaigns, was the manager for Jyoti Gondek in the last mayoral election.

"We are (back) in the Wild West days, just with more paperwork and a smaller group of people who understand the rules," said Carter.

Carter pointed out that while TPAs must disclose who is funding their efforts to lobby for or against political candidates, voters don't get to see that information until a few months after the election.

In the case of the 2021 election, voters had to wait even longer when the city refused to release the donor information, even though provincial rules said it must be disclosed.

Carter points out that developers and unions can give donations to TPAs, something they cannot do directly to candidates.

The 2021 election experience has proven that a well-financed TPA, backed by corporate and union donations, can play a role in support of a candidate's campaign.

For Carter, it's a lesson for candidates in future elections.

"I would think that you would need to, in fact, have a TPA that was working adjacent to you, with the fundraising rules being what they are."

Election 2025 is still a ways off. But the city's website shows there are already eight registered TPAs.

One of them, Calgary's Future, assembled the biggest war chest well ahead of the last municipal vote.

From the pre-election period to voting day, the TPA spent most of the $1.7 million it received from civic unions like the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Amalgamated Transit Union.

That group endorsed Mayor Jyoti Gondek and the campaigns of eight elected councillors: Sonya Sharp, Jennifer Wyness, Jasmine Mian, Raj Dhaliwal, Courtney Walcott, Gian-Carlo Carra, Kourtney Penner and Evan Spencer.

The TPA's legally permitted advocacy efforts continue today, even though prospective council members cannot register to be a candidate in the next election until January 2025.

The director of Calgary's Future, Alexander Shevalier, said the TPA is focused squarely on the issue of housing affordability.

"Calgary's Future is a legal entity. We still exist," said Shevalier.

"We have been spurring people to let city council know about their thoughts on affordable housing. We've encouraged (people on) our list to email, write, phone and make presentations to council about affordable housing."

Calgary's Future finished the last election period with more than $95,000 in its account.

As for how much money Calgary's Future has already assembled for Election 2025, Shevalier said the TPA's directors have yet to decide when and how it will provide an update.

Unlike most TPAs in the last election, Calgary's Future voluntarily released its donor information long before the 2021 election day, Shevalier noted.

Should other TPAs follow suit so that Calgarians know this information before they vote in the next election?

"I can't speak to the decisions of other third-party advertisers. I will just say that we were transparent. Nothing came as a shock because we released it," said Shevalier.

"We were transparent then and we'll be transparent again."

Documents released by the city show another TPA, Calgary Tomorrow, racked up nearly three-quarters of all the donors, who contributed $422,000.

Many of those donors were connected to the development industry, the energy sector and local golf courses.

That TPA supported Jeff Davison, who ran for mayor. He finished third in that race.

When asked if the provincial government is looking at changing the rules on how TPAs work and to ensure greater transparency on their financial information, the department of municipal affairs referred CBC News to the office of Dale Nally, the minister responsible for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.

In a statement, his spokesperson Nicky Gocuan said the municipal affairs department is looking into improvements for the Local Authorities Election Act ahead of next year's municipal elections across Alberta.

"We are reviewing the provisions around third-party advertising to ensure that these rules capture all forms of third-party advertising, including for and against ballot questions."