Political Penalty

A year after a contentious royalty hike, Alberta Tories saw corporate campaign donations nearly cut in half

By Patrycja Romanowska

February 02, 2009

A closer look at the numbers suggests a shift in the geography of the government’s support base. Campaign donations to the Tories from Edmonton firms increased by almost $27,000.
Calgary firms also dropped from being seven of the top 10 Tory donors in the previous election to four in 2008. Pharmx Rexall Drug Stores Ltd., owned by Edmonton billionaire Daryl Katz, emerged as the number one business supporter.

contributions over time

The public record kept in Elections Alberta’s Edmonton office, which is mandatory but takes months for the parties to complete, also undermines other conventional wisdom among political pundits. One article of faith is that rural Alberta propelled Stelmach to power. But the Tories lost just over $18,000 in campaign donations from rural areas over the past two elections. Nor did out-of-province sympathizers come to the rescue. Donations from outside of Alberta fell by $65,591.

“The reduced contributions to the Tories can be directly attributable to the royalty regime,” says Mensah. “Industry’s reaction was very negative. They perceived this as the Stelmach government not taking into account their long-term planning needs and simply succumbing to short-term political expediency.”

However, Mensah doubts this marks a permanent shift by industry away from “the only game in town.” The increase in funds for the Liberals was merely a way for companies to hedge their political bets. “The reduction in contributions was a short-term message to the Tory government about the displeasure of the industry to the royalty changes,” he says.

The Conservatives got the message. “I am not going to lie. We all saw some of the reaction [to the royalty changes],” says Jim Campbell, executive director of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta.

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