Data collection: Third-party donors identified in the 2021 Calgary election

A deeper look at third-party advertiser (TPA) disclosures in the 2021 Calgary municipal election reveals a clear distinction between corporate and union contributions and the rest.

According to the Calgary political scientist, it was a virtual certainty in 2015 when these organizations were first banned from donating to municipal candidates.

At the time, then-NDP Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the rules would “put power back in the hands of Alberta citizens, not those with the deepest pockets…”

The TPA disclosures were originally released to LiveWire Calgary in 2022 following a Freedom of Information and Privacy (FOIP) request. Much of the donor information has been redacted from this disclosure. Other Calgary media received similar editorials upon their requests.

More recently, after the CBC filed an appeal 18 months ago, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta ruled that the City of Calgary had improperly maintained much of the donor information. As a result, the LWC FOIP request was reprocessed and it returned raw results (page 190).

The data shows that the biggest contributors were unions and corporations.

Third-party advertising spending has been displaced from previous election spending

According to Lisa Young, a political scientist at the University of Calgary, this is not surprising. He said that while this ban applies to candidates and parties, it does not mean that money will be lost.

“If you don't put parameters around third-party costs, it will be transferred to third-party costs,” he said.

“So it's no surprise that money is being pushed out and finding its way into the third-party space.”

What surprised Young was that unions outnumber corporations by three to one.

“What strikes me here is the disparity between the amounts put in by the unions and the corporations as we see it officially now, which is not what you usually see,” he said.

Until early 2021, Alberta had no limit on union or corporate donations to third-party advertisers.

In December 2020, the United Conservative Party passed Bill 45, the Local Government Elections Amendment Bill, which imposed a $30,000 limit on any individual, organization, corporation or trade union from January 1, 2021.

A ThinkHQ poll released in September 2021 found that only 16 per cent of Calgarians knew about the changes in Bill 45. About 40 percent said they had “heard something about it,” while 45 percent of Calgarians didn't know.

The same survey found that many Calgarians disapproved of the largest TPA, Calgary Future (45 per cent), while just over 70 per cent were unaware of the advertiser.

More details of this story are below this table of the amount of donations made during the municipal elections. A list of all TPA donors over $250 can be found at the bottom of this story.

Donor revealed… who are they supporting?

The full FOIP results reveal donors who have donated more than $250 to TPA, Fluoride Yes, as well as individuals who have contributed less than $250.

Data often shows where money is spent (advertising, marketing, etc.), but often not for whom.

One of the candidates announced in the information is the 12th district. Evan Spencer. TPA's Look Forward Calgary announcement revealed that the money they raised was used to raise awareness for her, Jasmine Mian and unsuccessful District 13 candidate Jay Unsworth.

It's important to note that TPA cash does not go directly to campaign support, and by law campaigns cannot contract with TPAs ​​to help finance campaign events.

However, it may be used to inform or support a particular candidate or candidates on an issue or issues.

Spencer said one of the first social media ads featuring her image was done by Look Forward Calgary. He doesn't think it's necessary to reveal who the money was specifically spent on, especially when it might be obvious.

“I think it's open from the beginning, whether it's through print or signage, media, door-knocking support or whatever,” Spencer told LiveWire Calgary.

“People who donate to these organizations and support these organizations, it becomes clear very quickly who they're supporting and who they're investing in.”

The Local Authority Elections Act requires TPAs ​​sponsoring election advertising to include the TPA's name and contact information to comply with the Elections Act.

Young cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on campaign finance to make his point about how much information should be disclosed to voters before Election Day.

“…Sunlight is the best disinfectant; “The organization cannot illegally influence a candidate or an elected official if the financial support is transparent,” he said.

“It means the media can make a connection, citizens can make a connection, and they can hold an elected official accountable.”

Data disclosure deadlines

Spencer said TPA is fine with earlier disclosure of donor data.

“I think that being able to be more detailed about who is donating to whom and how much will lead to a better public debate and a better informed electorate,” he said.

His concern, however, is that this information is being weaponized to discredit otherwise quality candidates.

“It could feed the group, us against them. There's a group that's doing this kind of thing and they're the enemy and they have different motives,” Kuhn said. Spencer said.

“We're increasingly taught to think that if someone doesn't think like us, it's bad.” And so this — it could add more gas to the flame.”

Young said there was no reason to disclose that information on the 18-month timeline.

“There is no reason to require the media to take the necessary actions to obtain this information,” he said.

“It needs to be in the public domain, and it needs to be in the public domain immediately so that we understand what's going on here.”

Young said he believes eliminating the transfer of union and corporate donations to TPAs ​​aligns with the values ​​of most voters. He said union and corporate donations are not required to go through the TPA.

“It's entirely possible to pass legislation that says only individuals can give money to third-party advertisers — unions can't and corporations can't,” he said.

In addition, you can limit how much the TPA can spend, Young said. Or make the whole process transparent.

“In a democracy, it's reasonable for voters to know who's spending money during elections,” Young said.