SCOOP: Byelection payouts
I've got receipts
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ABOVE THE FOLD
First in Observer — THE BILL FOR THE BYELECTIONS — Wondering who got paid what during last spring’s byelections in Milton and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex? The receipts are in, and I trekked up to Elections Ontario headquarters to find out how the political parties spent their campaign cash.
Read on to find out how much the PCs paid door-knockers and what top Liberal operatives earned. You’ll have to wait a little longer for the NDP’s detailed receipts — they’re still in the process of filing their paperwork (but they better mosey, because the deadline has passed and the law says they could get dinged financially as a result).
In Milton…
The PCs were gunning hard to hold on to the battleground riding. They made it rain goody announcements and sent heavyweight front-benchers to canvass — including Premier DOUG FORD himself. Though the party took flak for picking a candidate who was previously a Liberal (and, as I first reported, who even met with BONNIE CROMBIE about potentially running under her banner) — now-MPP ZEE HAMID pulled it off handily.
But that wasn’t without the help of paid canvassers. According to election finance returns from the central party, the local riding association, and Hamid’s own campaign, the PCs forked out at least $24,581 for door-knockers in Milton. They also paid $2,556 for canvassing services from Geppetto Technologies and $2,500 to canvassing chair MAXIMILIAN FAULHAMMER. That doesn’t include all costs to feed and accommodate canvassers (for instance, $710 was spent caffeinating door-knockers at Tim Hortons).
Star contender Hamid also got a direct “candidate fee” of $2,666. That typically covers lost income during the campaign, but not every candidate gets one.
Federal FOMO: The party didn’t respond to my request for comment, but insiders were happy to dish. They tell me that it’s not so unusual for a political party to hire canvassers, and while it wouldn’t be their first choice, sometimes it’s necessary — especially with the popular federal Conservatives and PIERRE POILIEVRE “sucking up” precious resources.
“It is extremely challenging to rely on volunteers for canvassing,” said one political operative.
Also on the payroll…
BLAIR HAINS — who ran Hamid’s campaign (scooped here) and is back as chief of staff to Health Minister SYLVIA JONES (scooped here) — raked in $13,000.
Campaign Support, the firm run by the PCs preferred pollster NICK KOUVALIS, got $2,717 for polling, plus another $1,581 for get-out-the-vote services.
Creative Currency — the company headed up by DENNIS MATTHEWS, ex-advertising pro to then-PM STEPHEN HARPER, and which helped produce and design the PCs “Get it Done” slogan and jingle — made $4,218 for social media ads.
For the Liberals, Milton was a tough slog. The party had a hard time nailing down a candidate when Crombie decided not to run, eventually landing on GALEN NAIDOO HARRIS, whose family ties didn’t sit well with some of the party faithful.
It also didn’t help that, as I first told you here, sources said the Grits’ ground game and fundraising efforts were relatively weak. Some key organizers decided to sit on the sidelines, while riding association presidents from around the GTA were not asked to send volunteers to help get out the vote.
Still, the Grits managed to hold their vote share compared to 2022. That’s thanks in part to campaign manager MILTON CHAN — who is also the OLP’s lawyer and a lightning rod in the party. The Liberals recorded two payments for Chan: $7,500 for salary and benefits via Naidoo Harris’s campaign, and $7,500 for professional legal fees, specifically “election readiness,” through the central party.
The Liberals also forked out a big chunk of change to Bellwether Technologies — founded by the folks at Mainstreet, led by QUITO MAGGI: $29,153 for voter ID and contact services. (Update: JASON TELEGDI is now the owner of Bellwether.)
Another $8,000-plus was spent on Meta advertising and communications.
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In Lambton-Kent-Middlesex…
More door-knockers on deck. The PCs hired canvassers in their stronghold of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, to the tune of at least $21,000. Specifically: More than $9,600 was doled out to canvassers, while another $12,882 was paid to Knocks Engagement, a door-knocking company that, according to LinkedIn, is led by GEORGE GRETES.
It seems to have paid off as the race was a slam dunk for now-MPP STEVE PINSONNEAULT.
“It’s tough getting volunteers in rural Ontario,” a Tory source added.
The PCs enlisted Creative Currency again for its advertising strategy and execution, paying out $4,218, plus another $4,000 for digital ads. Kouvalis’s Campaign Support received $12,870 for live-calling services. Another $5,200 was spent on digital billboards and $2,000 on radio ads.
Over in Liberal land: Candidate CATHY BURGHARDT-JESSON spent a pretty penny on radio ads, roughly $12,000. Another $14,125 went to Keyframe Communications for advertising. And Bellwether got $5,674 for voter IDs.
As for third parties: CUPE forked out $1,759 on Facebook advertising.
Want to know how much your political friends and foes got paid out? Send me their names and I’ll look up the receipts for you:
Go deeper: Regular readers will know by now that I love parsing campaign receipts. Catch up on the latest Liberal and NDP payouts, ditto for the PCs and government.
MEA CULPA! An earlier version of this story stated that the Liberals increased their vote share in Milton, when it fact it stayed about the same. I know, I know.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:15 a.m.: In North York, an announcement from Labour Minister DAVID PICCINI and Colleges and Universities Minister NOLAN QUINN.
10 a.m.: Energy Minister STEPHEN LECCE is up in Tiverton.
2 p.m.: STEVE PINSONNEAULT, PA for Rural Affairs, is in London.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 8:30 a.m.: The PCs are putting on a $1,000-a-plate breakfast in Toronto. There’s no ministerial lineup posted so you know what that means: DOUG FORD could make a cameo. Invite.
THE HOUSE IS OUT. Ditto committees. It’s constit week! MPPs will trek back to their ridings for next week’s break — meaning no Question Period, debates or legislative moves. Expect a flurry of activity when politicians return November 18, as there will only be four sitting weeks to go before the winter recess.
THURSDAY’S RUNDOWN:
Passed, post-haste: Bill 220, Attorney General DOUG DOWNEY’s legislation extending the taxpayer-funded per-vote-subsidy, zipped through second and third reading with minimal debate and is now awaiting Royal Assent. Context: Oppo parties have lambasted the PCs prolific use of time-allocation motions, saying they skirt accountability and muzzle public debate, but they’re A-OK with speeding up Bill 220, as it puts them in line for a hefty payout. Catch up.
Passed, perhaps surprisingly: Liberal KAREN McCRIMMON’s (non-binding) motion calling on Metrolinx to ensure “active members of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve are not excluded from the program for veterans and active Canadian Armed Forces to receive free fares on GO Transit and the UP Express.” More on that in a moment.
Tabled: Bill 222, the Heat Stress Act from New Democrats, to establish a worker heat protection standard and penalties for employers who don’t comply.
Off to committee: Bill 212, Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA’s move to ban bike lanes and speed up highway construction, will go under the microscope at Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy. That bill is also on the fast track (scooped here).
CLIPPINGS
— POLL WATCH: “Ontarians support Premier DOUG FORD’s controversial bid to curb municipal bike lanes by a two-to-one margin, a new poll suggests.” The Star’s got juicy polling numbers on that and more from Abacus Data.
— CIVIC CLASH I: “As Brampton deals with the fallout of two days of violent protests outside a Hindu temple, other Ontario cities are also considering enacting local laws that would ban protests near institutions such as places of worship and schools.” CP reports.
— CIVIC CLASH II: Meanwhile, Ontario’s Big City Mayors re-upped their call on the provincial government to seek intervenor status when it comes to future court cases related to encampments. That’s not as bold as using the notwithstanding clause, something Premier DOUG FORD dared mayors to ask him to do — and which a dozen of them promptly did.
One councillor’s take: “A monumental unforced error by 12 Ontario Big City Mayors. The Premier has successfully divided your 29 Mayor coalition and taken the focus off the only solution to the crisis: more funding for supportive housing & treatment. They have handed him a political win and got zip in return. Nice work,” tweeted Hamilton councillor MAUREEN WILSON.
While we’re on the topic of civic drama…
— BIKE-LANE BLOWBACK: Speaking to Newstalk 1010’s JOHN MOORE, ex-Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY concedes bike lanes that he helped install aren’t working in certain spots. Listen.
— POLITICAL LIFE IS A HIGHWAY: “The second phase of construction on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway will begin earlier than initially planned. Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA called it a ‘milestone’ moment.” Details via Global News.
Meanwhile: “The Ford government says it is ‘looking at’ buying Highway 407 as part of its attempts to reduce gridlock but won’t offer any details of what that consideration looks like and if any work has taken place behind the scenes to advance the idea.” Global digs in.
— FIELD TRIP: “The Lambton Kent District School Board in southwestern Ontario spent more than $32,000 Cdn to send three staffers to an education conference in Hawaii earlier this year, according to newly obtained documents.” It comes as Education Minister JILL DUNLOP has launched a trio of investigations into sketchy school board spending. CBC has more.
— ALL ABOARD (AGAIN): “The Ford government is retooling a Remembrance Day policy that would allow Canadian veterans and serving members of the armed forces to ride for free on Go Trains, Global News has learned, after reservists raised concerns about being left out of the measure.”
Meanwhile: Local politicians from Bradford were at Queen’s Park urging the province to honour local police and paramedics, too.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
BEYOND THE BUBBLE — DEREK ROWLAND, former longtime staffer to then-Minister LISA MacLEOD, has landed at Southlake Regional Health Centre as chief comms officer and director of public affairs.
— KATE BARTZ is the new executive director for Career Colleges Ontario. Bartz will be familiar to Queen’s Park circles: She’s married to ex-minister, now-Woodbine exec MONTE McNAUGHTON.
QUESTION PERIOD
MPPs kicked off the debate on a sombre note, with each party delivering remarks in honour of Remembrance Day.
Then, the theatrics were back on. The NDP hit hard on elusive highway and Greenbelt-related FOIs, but the Premier let his ministers handle that. He wasn’t roused to respond until it was the Liberals’ turn, and they continue to name and shame PC ridings where a high numbers of folks don’t have a family doctor.
THE HIGHLIGHTS: “The Ministry of Transportation was unable to find a single record showing that the government had ever considered buying back Highway 407. So why did the Premier make this claim?” — “Did staff in the Minister of Transportation’s office delete emails?” — “Why is a staffer whom the Integrity Commissioner described as “untrained and unsupervised” making decisions about changing the route of the Bradford Bypass instead of this minister herself?” — Support addiction services in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma — Pass the NDP’s heat stress PMB — “With a government that spends billions like it’s Monopoly money, why are so many Ontarians like Theresa stuck without a family doctor?” — Do something about industrial pollution impacting Aamjiwnaang First Nation — “When will the Finch West LRT be open?”
LOBBY LIST
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
Tasnia Khan, Amir Remtulla Inc.: Insurance Bureau of Canada
Daniel Marino, Impact Public Affairs: Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
Michael Ras, Counsel Public Affairs: CAPREIT LP
Felix Burns, Counsel Public Affairs: Ontario Chiropractic Association
Ramiro Mora, CWell Consulting: Storm Services
In-house organizations: Colleges Ontario — Alectra Inc.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: On Saturday — ex-Lieutenant Governor ELIZABETH DOWDESWELL…On Sunday — JEREMY ROBERTS, ex-PC MPP, now vice-chair at the License Appeal Tribunal.
🍽️ LUNCH SPECIAL: Wondering whether to pick up lunch or brown-bag it? Root vegetable goulash with egg noodles is on tap in the basement cafeteria.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 34 days until the winter recess.
Got a tip? Document to leak? Staffer on the move? I want to hear from you, and I’ll keep you anonymous. Reach out to sabrina@qpobserver.ca, or hit me up directly: