Close X
Friday, November 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Campaign fundraising error less than $10K: Greens

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Oct, 2020 09:56 PM
  • Campaign fundraising error less than $10K: Greens

The Green Party of Canada says the amount of money accidentally deposited with the party rather than Glen Murray's leadership campaign adds up to less than $10,000.

Murray says he is not yet convinced the damage stops there but credits the party with doing what it can to fix the problem.

He says the damage to his campaign has been done, preventing his team from doing some planned work because it didn't think it had the money.

The party says in a statement today it has forwarded $9,630 from 35 donors to Murray's campaign, and added under 10 people to the membership list whose memberships weren't properly approved.

The party says the donations were "incorrectly processed" but the situation has now been rectified.

Murray says media coverage of the problem has led to many phone calls from supporters who say they are concerned their donation didn't go through, or didn't get a ballot to vote in the leadership race.

He says his campaign team is focused on getting their vote out right now. Digital voting started last weekend and runs through Saturday, when the winner will be announced at an event in Ottawa.

Murray's campaign team will meet Sunday to figure out what else has to be done.

"I'm not sure at this point we'll ever get a final number," he said Thursday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Murray said the party reported publicly on fundraising efforts by the candidates but since his numbers were incorrect, it "misrepresented" the strength of his campaign.

According to the most recently released public figures, Murray had raised $62,550 as of Aug. 31, from 353 donors.

That left him in fourth place for money raised and in sixth place for the number of donors, out of the eight candidates in the race.

Toronto activist and lawyer Annamie Paul led both counts, with $186,326 raised from 1,622 donors.

If the problem was limited to $9,630 and 35 donors, neither of Murray's placements on those lists would have changed.

Murray said he is disappointed this happened, and knows it could affect the outcome of the race but he said "the party is really going out of its way" to try to fix it.

This is the first Green leadership contest in 14 years. Former leader Elizabeth May stepped down almost a year ago, but stayed on as an MP and the parliamentary leader in the House of Commons.

None of the eight contestants running to succeed her are currently MPs. Paul is running in the current byelection in Toronto Centre, where she was also a candidate in the 2019 election.

MORE National ARTICLES

James sees 'glimmers of increased confidence' as jobless rate hits 13.4 per cent

James sees 'glimmers of increased confidence' as jobless rate hits 13.4 per cent
British Columbia's jobless rate continues to climb upwards, hitting 13.4 per cent last month, but there are signs of building confidence.

James sees 'glimmers of increased confidence' as jobless rate hits 13.4 per cent

Black Canadians say racism here is just as harmful as in the United States

Black Canadians say racism here is just as harmful as in the United States
The death of George Floyd in Minnesota following a police intervention has spurred massive protests in both Canada and the United States and societal soul-searching on the need to fight racism on both sides of the border.

Black Canadians say racism here is just as harmful as in the United States

Minister says reckoning on police violence against Indigenous people needed

Minister says reckoning on police violence against Indigenous people needed
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Canada needs a reckoning over a repeated and disgusting pattern of police violence against Indigenous people. Miller says he "watched in disgust" video and reports this week of violence against a 22-year-old Inuk man in Nunavut and a 26-year-old First Nations mother in New Brunswick.

Minister says reckoning on police violence against Indigenous people needed

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Canada unemployment rate hits new record
Canada clawed back 289,600 jobs in May as provincial governments began easing public health restrictions and businesses reopened, Statistics Canada said Friday. Still, the unemployment rate in May rose to 13.7 per cent, the highest level in more than four decades of comparable data.

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real
The head of Toronto's police service took a public knee on Friday in solidarity with marching anti-racism demonstrators protesting police killings of black people, with similar demonstrations planned in other Canadian cities.

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is offering $14 billion to the provincial and territorial governments for measures to keep COVID-19 at bay.

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year