Trudeau draws on the past as he looks to the future
Latest fundraising figures show commanding lead in both dollar and donor numbers
Justin Trudeau, frontrunner in the race to be Liberal leader, has been criticized for shying away from policy announcements.
But supporters, young and old, seem smitten with the idea of Trudeau leading the party, and he's drawing crowds much like his father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, did more than four decades ago.
Trudeau has been responsible for attracting the lion's share of nearly 300,000 supporters to the party under a new category that allows non-members to vote for the leadership.
Many of those supporters are young — and many of them in the end did not follow through and complete their registration in time to take part in voting for the leadership in a few weeks' time.
So, is this the return of Trudeaumania, or simply a party with nothing left to lose?
Watch Laurie Graham's report on CBC's The National.
Fundraising figures released
Liberal leadership frontrunner Justin Trudeau has raised more than $1 million for his campaign, according to the latest numbers posted Monday by Elections Canada.
The figures reported to Elections Canada by the candidates show Martha Hall Findlay in second with $178,000, just ahead of B.C. MP Joyce Murray with nearly $170,000.
The deadline for reporting to Elections Canada was Friday.
Numbers were not reported for Montreal-area MP Marc Garneau, who exited the race March 13.
Former Quebec MP and federal cabinet minister Martin Cauchon led the rest of the contestants, reporting more than $103,000. Cauchon was a late entry into the race and this is his first filing.
David Bertschi, who dropped out of the race last week, raised just over $50,000 and Karen McCrimmon and Deborah Coyne raised just over $26,000 and $25,000 respectively.
The number of donors listed by each candidate is perhaps more interesting than the dollar amounts.
Trudeau is far ahead of the pack, with 7,009 donors – and no outstanding loans, according to the Elections Canada website.
The figures show Murray has relied on 1,382 donors for her total, giving her a significantly larger donor base than Hall Findlay's 1,023 contributors.
By contrast, Cauchon raised his $103,000 with just 151 donors, indicating he received large donations from the bulk of his backers.