14,000 Individuals, Small Business Support BC Liberals in 2009 Campaign
VANCOUVER – Almost 14,000 individual contributors stepped up to support the BC Liberal Party in the first five months of 2009, BC Liberal Director of Communications & Membership Services Chad Pederson said today upon the public release of the party’s election financing report by Elections BC.
“We’re pleased to say that we received contributions from families, doctors, teachers, professionals, seniors, and more in the lead up to the 2009 election,” said Pederson. “Our party is a broad coalition of individuals from across the province and our financing report reflects just that fact.”
In accordance with the Election Act, all registered political parties and third party advertisers filed their election financing reports with Elections BC on August 10th. The report shows that 13,722 individuals contributed to the BC Liberal Party from January 1, 2009 to May 12, 2009, representing 86% of all contributors.
“We’ve been working to expand our individual contributor base in the years leading up to the election and we’ve seen very positive results,” said Pederson. “It’s certainly something we will be focusing on as we ramp up again to rebuild our election war chest.”
Small business also backed the BC Liberal Party in large numbers in the 2009 election, with almost 74% of all business related donations totaling $2000 or less.
“Small business clearly made the choice that the BC Liberals were the best to see them through tough economic times,” said Pederson. “Small businesses recognize that under the leadership of Premier Campbell and the BC Liberal Team we’ve reduced red tape, reduced taxes, and opened up trade and mobility agreements that benefit all sectors of the economy.”
The BC Liberals raised $9.08 million through May 12, 2009. Full versions of all party and third-party financing reports became available for public inspection at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and on Election BC's web site at 9 a.m. today.
Backgrounders:
- Summary of Total Contributors
- Summary of Political Contributions by Class
