The Conservative Party’s spending outstripped its record fundraising total in 2024 as it ramped up advertising and internal polling ahead of the federal election.
According to records filed with Elections Canada, the party brought in about $42 million in donations and another $5 million in membership fees last year, with total revenues of just over $48.5 million.
The party spent just shy of $50 million over the same period â an increase of nearly $13 million over 2023.
A large amount of that money went to advertising, with $7.8 million spent on TV, $7.1 million on digital and $1.5 million on radio. More than $2.5 million went to research and polling.
The $16.5 million the Conservatives spent on advertising was nearly double the sum the party spent on ads in 2023.
In September, the Conservatives launched an ad spot featuring most of the messages they’d take into the election campaign in the spring, including the “let’s bring it home” tag line.
In the ad’s voiceover, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledged to “cap spending, axe taxes, reward work, build homes, uphold family, stop crime, secure borders, rearm our forces, restore our freedom.”
Poilievre told right-wing influencer Jordan Peterson in a December podcast interview that he had done 600 public events over the previous year, including tours of businesses and factories and the rallies that became a signature of his leadership.
The Conservatives logged $1.5 million in spending on travel and hospitality and just over $8 million on fundraising efforts in 2024.
Sarah Fischer, the party’s director of communications, said in an email that the Conservatives ended the year with just shy of $16 million in cash and net assets of just over $9 million.
“As is typical in the pre-writ period, in 2024 the party spent slightly more than it raised,” said Fischer.
The Conservatives were the only party to file annual financial statements with Elections Canada by the deadline; all the other parties were granted an extension.
Conservative strategist Fred DeLorey said he’s “never seen anything like” the party’s fundraising totals and he’s not concerned by the level of spending in 2024.
“That’s what political parties are supposed to do, especially when you are the best fundraising machine in the country,” said DeLorey, chair of North Star Public Affairs and the Conservatives’ 2021 campaign manager.
But he said members should expect the party to take a serious look at whether its spending was effective, in light of the election result.
Poilievre to face Conservative Party leadership review following election loss
By late December, the Conservatives appeared all but certain to form the next government.
They had been relentless in their attacks on the unpopular government of Justin Trudeau and his government’s signature climate policy, the consumer carbon price.
They were also targeting then NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and his party’s decision to prop up the Liberal government.
The Conservatives failed to form government in the April 28 election, despite gaining seats and getting a larger share of the vote than they had in recent decades.
Poilievre lost his long-held seat in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton. He’s now running in an Aug. 18 byelection in a rural Alberta riding.
“Were the right voters targeted? Did we lean too hard on the anti-Trudeau and the anti-Singh messages, instead of making our own case?” DeLorey said.
Conservative attacks targeting Singh ramped up in the months leading into the election. In January, the party released an ad claiming Singh’s party supported the Liberals in order to secure his MP pension.
Singh also lost his seat and resigned. The NDP has been reduced to just seven MPs and no longer has official party status in the House of Commons.
DeLorey said attacking the NDP leader was “a foolish waste of money.”
The election shaped up to be a two-party race, with many traditional New Democrat voters lending their support to the Liberals. However, the Conservatives also picked up formerly NDP seats.
“I think a very thorough post-mortem should be conducted on all of this stuff. I’m not sure that’s happening,” DeLorey said.
A representative of the party’s fundraising arm, the Conservative Fund, is required by the party’s constitution to provide a financial report to delegates at the party’s next national convention in late January.
As leader, Poilievre is also required to report to delegates and hold an accountability session. And he will face a review of his leadership at the convention, which is being held in Calgary.
