Alberta ridings not on the list: Tories

Unparalleled success among Alberta’s federal Conservative ridings is probably why none of them appear on a list that has become part of an Elections Canada investigation, says Red Deer MP Bob Mills.

Elections Canada has accused the Conservative Party of Canada of overspending on the 2006 campaign. It has described an “in and out” scheme, in which it alleges money transfers were used to hide spending that went $1 million over the $18-million campaign spending limit.

Court documents list 67 Conservative ridings alleged to be involved in the scheme. No ridings in Alberta or any of the northern territories appear on the list.

Mills said on Wednesday that he suspects the questions arose from some of the more marginal ridings, which may have been unable to raise sufficient funds on their own to run an election campaign.

Alberta ridings like Red Deer, on the other hand, are flush with cash as a result of strong local support and successful fundraising, said Mills.

Red Deer spent considerably less than its limit during the most recent campaign, he said.

While allowed to spend about $85,000, the local campaign actually spent $65,000, including full-page newspaper ads.

“We’ve always been in the top one or two ridings in the country in terms of fundraising and in terms of support, so of course we have very, very little to do with the national campaign, because we pretty much run our own locally. We raise our own money. We do our own thing.”

Conservatives in Red Deer have enough cash on hand to run two election campaigns.

Mills said that is a sharp contrast from when he first ran for the Reform Party and it had $200 to spend on the campaign.

He said the local association had sent money to help the national campaign in the past, before the Reformers and Conservatives merged and before current spending rules were put in place.

“We haven’t sent any money to the national party (election campaign), well, certainly not to the Conservative Party of Canada. Back in the Reform days, it certainly wasn’t a matter of spending too much, it was a matter of not being able to raise enough.”

Mills sees the court case as an attempt on the part of the Liberal Party to discredit Conservatives in any way possible.

“You know, where this is at is in the court, so let the courts decide. If there was something illegal, well, obviously the courts will make that decision.”

Mills, who is retiring when the next election is called, said he believes it is common for all parties to transfer money as needed.

Craig Soderquist, who was Mills’ riding president during the 2006 campaign, said Red Deer’s workers judge how much an election is going to cost, based on its statistics, and then develops a budget.

“You know, the Conservative Party of Canada, from an Alberta perspective, they get a lot of money from us, like fundraising. And I don’t think we spend a whole bunch, quite honestly. Some of the other ridings, it’s hard to raise a thousand bucks. Here, it’s not.”

The issue is being dealt with in a civil action filed with the Federal Court of Canada.

Contact Brenda Kossowan at bkossowan@reddeeradvocate.com