N.S. Tories see big fundraising jump in 2023, according to new data

The governing Progressive Conservatives saw major fundraising gains in 2023, according to new data from Elections Nova Scotia.

The independent elections agency released the annual contribution disclosure statements for Nova Scotia's political parties on Monday.

Along with the year-over-year gain for the Tories, the documents show a fundraising jump for the NDP in the first full year of Claudia Chender's leadership and a drop off for the Liberals, a year after they held a leadership contest that helped drive donations in 2022.

The Tories pulled in just shy of $630,000 in 2023, nearly doubling their 2022 total, according to the documents. That includes $59,824.72 in contributions of less than $200 each.

Elections Nova Scotia rules require anyone donating $200 or more to be identified. Donors are capped at giving $5,000 per party, per year.

• Read the complete 2023 political donations report

Nine people donated the maximum to the Tories, the most of any party.

NDP sees gains, while Liberals slide

As was the case in 2022, the NDP raised the second-highest total in 2023.

The NDP pulled in about $535,000, up approximately 18 per cent from 2022.

The NDP figure for 2023 includes $95,092.15 in donations of less than $200. Only one donor gave the maximum of $5,000.

The Liberals, meanwhile, saw their fundraising total for 2023 dip by about a third from the previous year, although 2022 included the leadership race between former MLA Angela Simmonds and eventual winner and current Liberal Leader Zach Churchill.

The party's 2023 donation total clocked in at about $408,000 with three people donating the maximum $5,000. 

Filings for the other registered parties in the province show that the Green Party of Nova Scotia raised $22,550 in 2023.

The province's newest registered party, Nova Scotians United, raised $1,349. The Atlantica Party Association of Nova Scotia, which was deregistered as a party earlier this year, raised no money in 2023, according to the documents.

Why some support fixed election dates — and why they can be tricky for governments

6 months ago

Duration 4:02

In a departure from previous comments, Premier Tim Houston indicated that he might not be married to the fixed election date his government legislated shortly after coming to power. Jean Laroche and Michael Gorman explain the politics at play.

Nova Scotia's fixed election date legislation calls for people to next go to the polls on July 15, 2025.

However, Premier Tim Houston recently suggested he was no longer holding himself to the date his party enshrined in the first piece of legislation the Tories passed after forming government in 2021.