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LONDON, Ont. - Federal Liberals posted their best fundraising haul in a decade last year, filling their party's war chest just in time for this year's election.

The final numbers for the fourth quarter of 2014 are to be filed with Elections Canada by the end of the month.

But party insiders say the Liberal take for the last three months of the year topped $5.6 million, bringing the total for the year close to $16 million.

That's likely not enough to beat the Conservatives, who are on track to exceed their 2013 fundraising haul of $18.1 million.

But it will take a big bite out of the Tories' fundraising advantage, which the governing party has enjoyed since 2006, when corporate and union donations were prohibited and severe restrictions on individual donations were imposed.

The Liberals, who had been heavily reliant on donations from corporations and wealthy individuals, struggled for years to raise money under the new regime. But they have been steadily closing the fundraising gap since Justin Trudeau took the party's helm 21 months ago.

Trudeau and his 34 MPs are to get an update on the party's fundraising efforts today during the first of a two-day caucus retreat to plot strategy for next week's resumption of Parliament and for the election, scheduled for October.

Under Trudeau, the Liberals are again holding winter retreats outside of Ottawa another sign that the party is flush with cash. And the fact they're meeting in the midst of Ontario's battered manufacturing heartland is no accident.

Liberals were shut out of southwestern Ontario entirely in 2011, when they were reduced to a third-party rump. But strategists believe the area is now a fertile staging ground for a national comeback.

Excerpt from:
Federal Liberals' Fundraising Results Best In Ten Years

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, January 20, 2015 7:09AM EST Last Updated Tuesday, January 20, 2015 7:03PM EST

LONDON, Ont. -- Justin Trudeau is casting his refusal to be pinned down on economic policy as a sign he's more prudent and fiscally responsible -- and even more prime ministerial -- than Stephen Harper, whom he accuses of making it up on the fly.

The Liberal leader asserted Tuesday that the calamitous plunge in oil prices demonstrates how reckless Harper's government has been in spending a budget surplus that is rapidly vanishing.

"I think it's become fairly clear that because Mr. Harper put all his eggs in the same basket, counting on oil prices remaining high, he is now reacting and flailing and indeed making it up as he goes along," Trudeau said outside the first day of a two-day Liberal caucus retreat.

A Conference Board of Canada report Tuesday estimated that the drop in oil prices -- to less than US$50 from more than US$100 a barrel last summer -- will drain $4.3 billion out of federal revenues this year.

The repercussions of the oil price slide prompted Finance Minister Joe Oliver to announce last week that he's postponing the budget until at least April.

As a cornerstone of its platform for the federal election scheduled for October, the government has vowed that the 2015-16 budget will post a modest surplus after six years of deficits and it has already committed to spend most of it on a family tax-benefit plan.

However, the loss of billions in oil revenues has raised questions about the government's ability balance the budget and deliver on its pricey promises.

It's also raised questions about how NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who began unveiling platform planks last fall, intends to pay for his proposals, including a $5-billion-a-year, national day-care program.

Trudeau has been heavily criticized for refusing to spell out policy details in advance of the election. But he cast that as virtue Tuesday, in light of the oil price plunge.

See original here:
Ahead of election, Liberals post best fundraising results in 10 years

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says the Conservativegovernment's decision to delay itsbudget until at least April shows the prime minister is scrambling to come up with a plan amid plunging oil prices and economic uncertainty.

"Theyre making it up as theygo Im a teacher and their excuses are the political equivalent of 'the dog ate my homework,'"Trudeau told a crowd of supporters gathered for a rally in London, Ont., Tuesday night.

"Oil prices are through the floor, and Mr. Harper has no backup plan. None," he told a small room packed with hundreds of supporters.

Trudeau, who is in London for a two-day meeting with his caucus, was picking up on a theme he raised earlier in the day, saying a Liberal government under his watch would be more fiscally prudent than the ruling Conservatives.

"Mr. Harper is now facing a very differentreality, which has him lurching about, searching for a plan B, making it up as he goes along," Trudeau said at a midday press conference.

Asked for details about his own party's economic platform, Trudeau told reporters the Liberals' full program would be released during an election campaign.

But Trudeau was adamant that a Liberal platform would include reversing the Conservative government's recently announced income-splitting plan.

"I think I've been very clear on the prime minister's income-splitting plan, which gives over $2 billion of our rapidly now disappearing surplus to the richest 15 per cent of Canadians," he said.

"Canadians worked hard to get through some difficult years, and the fact is that our prime minister's priority is to support the wealthiest Canadians, like his family and mine, instead of actually building support for the middle class and those who hope to join," Trudeau said after his morning meeting with his caucus.

Earlier, in remarks to kick off his caucus meeting, Trudeau said he had visitedMeridian Technologies Inc., an automotive parts supplier.

Go here to see the original:
Justin Trudeau says Liberals will lead Canadians through economic uncertainty

Marijuana activist Jodie Emery says Canadians should vote for the Liberals in the next federal election, even though the party wont allow her to seek a nomination. | Darryl Dyck/CP

Marijuana activist Jodie Emery says Canadians should vote for the Liberals in the next federal election, even though the party wont allow her to seek a nomination.

Emery, the wife of so-called Prince of Pot Marc Emery, learned last week the Liberal partys candidate review committee rejected her bid in the riding of Vancouver East.

But Emery told The Straight that she and her husband, who served five years in a U.S. prison for selling pot seeds across the border, still plan to embark on a cross-country campaign against Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

This years focus will be to replace the Harper Conservatives with the Liberal government, she said.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has called for marijuana to be legal in Canada, believing taxing and regulating the drug will do more to keep it away from children.

Emery also sat down this week with Sun News Brian Lilley, who wondered why she still supports a party that told her shes not good enough to run, despite Trudeaus pledge to hold open nominations in all ridings.

I want to see the Harper Conservative government replaced and I believe that getting the Liberal government in is the only way to do that, she said.

When asked why she thought the party rejected her, Emery suggested calculations may have changed after longtime NDP MP Libby Davies announced she wouldnt run again in Vancouver East, turning a no hope riding into a possible pick-up for Trudeaus team.

The Liberals had to distance themselves from me a bit. And by being attacked in Parliament by the Conservatives and by being condemned by NDP and Conservative strategists, the Liberals got a bit nervous, I think, about my campaign becoming a distraction, she said.

More here:
Jodie Emery Wants Canadians To Vote Liberal, Even Though Party Won't Let Her Run

By Joan Bryden The Canadian Press

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau speaks in Edmonton on Aug. 20, 2014.

LONDON, Ont. Federal Liberals posted their best fundraising haul in a decade last year, filling their partys war chest just in time for this years election.

The final numbers for the fourth quarter of 2014 are to be filed with Elections Canada by the end of the month.

But party insiders say the Liberal take for the last three months of the year topped $5.6 million, bringing the total for the year close to $16 million.

Thats likely not enough to beat the Conservatives, who are on track to exceed their 2013 fundraising haul of $18.1 million.

But it will take a big bite out of the Tories fundraising advantage, which the ruling party has enjoyed since 2006, when corporate and union donations were prohibited and severe restrictions on individual donations were imposed.

The Liberals, who had been heavily reliant on donations from corporations and wealthy individuals, struggled for years to raise money under the new regime. But they have been steadily closing the fundraising gap since Justin Trudeau took the partys helm 21 months ago.

Trudeau and his 34 MPs are to get an update on the partys fundraising efforts today during the first of a two-day caucus retreat to plot strategy for next weeks resumption of Parliament and for the election, scheduled for October.

For the first time in years, the winter retreat is being held outside of Ottawa another sign that the party is flush with cash, for a change. The Liberals have chosen the location in the midst of Ontarios battered manufacturing heartland deliberately.

Read more from the original source:
Liberals begin two-day retreat in London, Ont.