Latest news with #campaignfunding
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grassroots NDP group calls on party faithful to redirect donations to local riding associations
A group of NDP organizers and former MPs are asking supporters to redirect donations from the central party to local riding associations, saying hundreds of ridings cannot get rebates on campaign expenses due to the New Democrats' dismal 2025 federal election performance. "This election, Canadians showed that the NDP feels out of reach as a viable political option," the group — called Reclaim Canada's NDP — said in a press release sent out Saturday afternoon. The group said that by reallocating funding directly to riding associations, "progressive community organizers can access the resources required to meaningfully and equitably rebuild the NDP without being bureaucratically tangled with the party's management." According to Elections Canada, a candidate's campaign is eligible for reimbursement if they were elected or received at least 10 per cent of the valid votes. Reclaim Canada's NDP said New Democrats in less than 50 ridings out of 343 met that minimum threshold for reimbursement — which puts the party at risk in future elections."Not only was this a bad election for us, but millions of Canadians represented by the NDP going forward ... are going to have a harder time being represented in those election periods as well," said Ji Won Jung, a spokesperson for the group. The NDP also faces another challenge in the House of Commons. Its caucus is too small to be a recognized party, meaning it's lost funding for the leader's office and research bureau. The NDP was reduced to seven seats in the April 28 election — five short of the 12 needed to be a recognized party in the House of Commons. In its press release, Reclaim Canada's NDP also said the party's upper management "has since come under fire for several controversies." In May, three New Democrat MPs — Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout and Jenny Kwan — wrote a letter disputing the party's appointment of NDP MP Don Davies as interim leader and said the process "failed to uphold democratic and transparent principles." Jung said the group decided the most effective way for the NDP to build toward the future is focusing on riding associations rather than the central party. "I wouldn't call this a financial concern. I think this is much more structural concern about how this recent federal election was conducted, how resources were allocated and how fundraising has been managed and directed the past while," they said. According to a document posted on the website of Reclaim Canada's NDP, the group's goal is to convince between five and 10 per cent of the NDP's federal donor base to cancel donations to the central party and send them directly to local riding associations. The group provides an email template donors can send to the NDP. "I will continue to support the NDP, but on a local level, and I will continue resuming my central donation once I see the party regain the trust of its grassroots and the working class," the template reads. CBC News has reached out to the NDP for comment. Rachel Blaney, a former NDP MP for the B.C. riding of North Island-Powell River, told CBC News she hopes the message Canadians take away from the group isn't that the party is struggling with unity. "Every group always has to have times that are challenging," Blaney said. "We're coming close to a leadership campaign. I think it's really important that people who are running for leadership in this party understand the need for some significant grassroots engagement." "It was really the people on the ground in my community that kept me centred," Blaney said. "I don't think this is about division as it is about a need for a very important conversation about how we come together after such a significant defeat." Jung said the group hopes the press release starts a conversation to "figure out what our way forward would be working together as New Democrats." "As a message to Canadians and to New Democrats everywhere, we are very united. We are all fighting for the same things," Jung said. "We want a fairer future for Canadians."
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Musk, and his money, leaving politics is upsetting both Democrats and Republicans
Elon Musk 's announcement earlier this week that he intends to limit his political spending has reportedly left both Republicans and Democrats seething. According to Politico, the GOP is concerned about the impact a sudden withdrawal of campaign funding from the world's richest man will have on upcoming election races, while the other side of the aisle will miss having Musk as a target of public ire. The Tesla, SpaceX, and X boss told the Bloomberg-hosted Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday that he is planning to rein in his political ambitions and 'do a lot less in the future.' 'I think I've done enough. If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason,' Musk explained. The billionaire donated at least $288m to Donald Trump 's campaign war chest last year and has since led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE has fired thousands of federal workers and cut millions of dollars in funding to U.S. projects and initiatives to reduce excess expenditures, waste, and fraud. He also plowed at least $18m into the race in a failed attempt to elect a new justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in March, backing conservative circuit judge Brad Schimel to beat moderate rival Susan Crawford. This failure, despite Musk's cash injection and cheese-hatted personal appearances, suggested that his influence could already be beginning to wane. Republicans had nevertheless hoped he would continue to invest in competitive contests, notably November's Supreme Court race in Pennsylvania or the Virginia gubernatorial election, in which Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger is currently outspending GOP candidate Winsome Earle-Sears. It remains to be seen whether Musk really will turn off the tap, a step the highly critical Trump ally Steve Bannon has characterised as 'taking his toys and going home.' 'I believe he means it right now. But every election is unique,' Republican political consultant Josh Novotney told Politico. 'So he may be motivated to be active again in the future.' GOP senators Ted Cruz and Markwayne Mullin have rushed to praise the billionaire for his 'extraordinary' contribution to the 2024 campaign in case he felt his generosity had gone underappreciated. For Democrats, Musk has been a focal point for criticism of the Trump administration. Everyone from Joe Biden to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders has denounced him as an unelected 'oligarch' whose money has bought him too much unchecked power at the heart of the U.S. government and sparked myriad conflicts of interest concerns. The latest of these saw 42 members of the party write to the Pentagon's inspector general this week to sound the alarm over SpaceX's potentially lucrative involvement in Trump's new Golden Dome anti-missile defense system. The opposition likewise remains sceptical that Musk is really going away for good, whatever he says publicly about recommitting himself to Tesla. The electric car brand has been badly wounded by its political stunts, suffering a violent public backlash and a 71 percent crash in its first-quarter profits. 'I believe he will start moving his money in the background, through nonprofits,' said Pat Dennis, president of the American Bridge Democratic super PAC. 'It'll be a lot more of that now.'
