OTTAWA – The Reform party, which has made balanced budgets the centrepiece of its political arguments, operated in the red last year, according to political party fund-raising and spending figures compiled by Elections Canada.
The federal agency reported last week that the Reform party raised $5.28 million last year. It spent more than $5.6 million, chalking up a deficit of $314,000 and dipping into previous surplus reserves to pay the bills.
That was not the only bad news for Reform in the fund-raising figures.
Although it outnumbers the Progressive Conservative Party 52-2 in the House of Commons, based on 1993 election returns, the PCs raised more money last year.
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The Tories, attempting to repair their shattered party, reported donations of $5.57 million, almost evenly split between businesses and individuals.
Almost 65 percent of Reform donations came from individual donors.
But even on that score, the Conservatives have something to cheer about as they analyze the numbers and think about the impending electoral battle over the anti-Liberal vote.
More individuals donated to the Tories last year, 15,870, than dug into their wallets for Reform, 13,073.
However, Reform raised far more from individuals and it drew increased corporate support, including more than $11,000 from newspaper owner Hollinger Inc. and $38,600 from Canadian Pacific.
The NDP raised $13.78 million last year, according to Elections Canada records, but close to $6 million of that was given to provincial wings of the party.
The governing Liberals were the biggest beneficiaries of both corporate and individual largesse.
The party raised $5.6 million from more than 39,000 donors and $7.5 million from more than 7,500 companies.
Total Liberal fund-raising last year was $13.2 million, a $2 million increase over last year as the party begins to build its war chest for the next election, expected in 1997.
