Kootenay-Columbia candidates can spend more on their campaigns than any other riding in Canada.
Expense limits released by Elections Canada last week show Kootenay-Columbia candidates are capped at $145,436.06 ahead of Monday’s federal election. The lowest limit in Canada is for the Sydney-Victoria riding in Nova Scotia at $99,536.07.
The figures don’t guarantee candidates will actually spend to the limit of what’s allowed.
Elections Canada says limits are calculated based on the following factors: the number of candidates; electoral districts with fewer candidates than the national average; and geographic areas where the number of candidates per square kilometre is less than 10.
The final number is also affected by the inflation adjustment factor on the day the election was called, which this year was Sept. 11.
Meanwhile, data disclosed by Facebook shows a disparity in what candidates are spending to advertise on the social media website.
Conservative candidate Rob Morrison spent $4,726 on Facebook ads from June to Oct. 13, the most of any candidate. Morrison is followed by Wayne Stetski, who has spent $3,522.
There’s a steep drop off in spending for the other candidates.
Robin Goldsbury of the Liberal Party has spent just $425, while Green candidate Abra Brynne and Rick Stewart of the People’s Party have spent less than $100 each.
Trev Miller of the Animal Protection Party has not purchased any Facebook ads.
Facebook was compelled to make advertising data public after the Elections Modernization Act (Bill C-76) became law in December 2018 and was rolled out in June.
The act stipulates third parties such as Facebook must report the number of partisan advertisements it publishes, who purchases those ads and how much money is spent.
Google Canada has said it is not accepting political ads during the election period.
As of Oct. 13, Facebook has earned $11.5 million by publishing 78,603 political ads.
Ads promoting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s page have cost his campaign $682,771, while the Liberal Party has spent an extra $546,071 on its national campaign.
The Conservative Party has spent $787,143, followed by the NDP ($226,472), the Green Party ($29,708) and the People’s Party ($17,739).
Related:
• Former Liberal candidate endorses Greens in Kootenay-Columbia
• Advanced polls saw 4.7 million Canadians cast their ballots in the 2019 federal election
• Man caught throwing away election signs in Fernie, ordered to put them back
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
