Sudbury byelection campaign donations slow to flow

It's been a hotly contested race, but when it comes to fundraising, it's been a cold winter campaign.

Elections Ontario posts campaign contributions in real time on its website, including the list for the Sudbury byelection.

As of Tuesday night, there were a total of 144 donations made to all political parties during the byelection.

The biggest cheque is $2,000, but most of them of just a few hundred dollars and all of them from individual citizens, rather than unions, companies and other organizations.

Compare that to the provincial byelections held last year in Niagara Falls and Thornhill where, some 7,000 donations were received by the three main parties and hundreds of thousands of dollars put towards the campaigns.

Even some Sudbury donors are on the list for those southern Ontario election campaigns.

Gerry Lougheed and Vale each gave the Liberals the maximum donation of $9,975 during the 2014 byelections.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives got $6,900 from Cliffs Natural Resources and a $9,440 cheque from Sudbury-based Pioneer Construction.

None of those big corporate dollars flowing yet in the Sudbury byelection, although that might happen long after election day.

Parties are allowed to keep fundraising until May 5.