THE Conservatives have set a record first half for fundraising outside an election year with over $13.5 million raised.

A $5.1-million second quarter was built on a nearly $8.5-million first quarter to set the party up for the best first half of fundraising outside an election year in Canadian political history. The $5.1 million raised is the party’s second highest Q2 ever outside an election year.

“Our team has put forward Canada’s Recovery Plan to create jobs and get our economy back on track, and Canadians have overwhelmingly responded,” said Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole. “Over the past few months, Conservatives have reached out to tens of thousands of Canadians to hear their concerns and talk about their priorities, and these fundraising results are a direct result of that outreach, and show that Canada’s Recovery Plan is the path forward for this country.”

The Conservatives raised $5,099,434 from 34,865 Canadians in the second quarter, while in the first quarter, they raised $8,477,435 from 45,048 Canadians, for a total first half of $13,576,869. The next highest first half total outside an election was $12.06 million set in 2018, also by the Conservative Party.

“As it becomes clearer [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau is more focused on engineering a risky election than our economic recovery, Canada’s Conservatives will continue to focus on our recovery plan that gets as many people back to work, in every part of Canada, in every sector, as quickly as possible,” said O’Toole. “Canadians can’t afford more of the same from the Trudeau Liberals and their reckless coalition of the NDP, Greens, and Bloc. There is only one party with a plan to secure the future for Canadians, and that’s Canada’s Conservatives.”

The next fundraising report will cover July to September 2021, and will be released by Elections Canada at the end of October.