Party money: Is it time to change how we finance politics?
Parties are now dependent on public donations and those who donate tend to be more partisan and more ideologically extreme. So what does that mean for our politics?
Hours after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was expelled from the House of Commons for calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 鈥渁 wacko鈥 and refusing to withdraw his comments, both leaders鈥 parties had issued fundraising emails pointing to the incident on Parliament Hill and asking for donors for more cash.
Fundraising is a huge part of what political parties do, it keeps their operations going and builds their war chest for the next election campaign. It also helps to buy them votes. The more money they have, the more they can spend on advertising and organization, and the more votes they can get. Since the end of the per-vote subsidy, parties are now dependent on public donations and those who donate tend to be more partisan and more ideologically extreme. So what does that mean for our politics?
On this episode of 鈥It鈥檚 Political,鈥 we take a look at party financing. First, we鈥檒l take a look at the current rules, how they evolved and who they give voice to. Then, we鈥檒l head up to the Hill to get some MPs’ views on the topic, before finally sitting down with three former party operatives to break down the perceived challenges of our current system and how it could be reformed to reduce the influence of those with deeper pockets.
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Some of the clips this week were sourced from the House of Commons, CPAC, the CBC, the Liberal Party of 91原创, the NDP, the Conservative Party of 91原创, the National Citizens Coalition鈥檚 YouTube channel, CNBC, WTOL, and PBS,
Listen here and follow or subscribe at , , , or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
This episode of 鈥淚t鈥檚 Political鈥 was produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Joy SpearChief-Morris assisted with production. Kevin Sexton mixed the show. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.
In this episode: Former Conservative Party of 91原创 national campaign manager and former director of operations Fred DeLorey, former Liberal Party of 91原创 national director Sheila Gervais, former NDP director of operations David Hare, former Conservative Party of 91原创 director of fundraising Jaime Girard, co-founder of Democracy Watch Duff Conacher, 91原创 2020 CEO and former senior director of communications for the Liberal Party of 91原创 Braeden Caley, McMaster University political science associate professor Andrea Lawlor, Royal Military College political science associate professor Holly Ann Garnett, Acadia University Politics Professor Alex Marland, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Calgary Conservative MP Greg McLean, Ajax Liberal MP and Health Minister Mark Holland, Langley鈥擜ldergrove MP Tako Van Popta, and Montreal-area Lac-Saint-Louis Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia.
Selected Readings:
Althia Raj is
an Ottawa-based national politics columnist for the Star. Follow
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