Liberals to make political fundraising events more open and transparent than ever before

April 6, 2017

Ottawa, ON – The Liberal Party of Canada is moving forward with the strongest standards in federal politics for more open and transparent party fundraising events, and is challenging other parties’ Leaders and leadership candidates to do the same.

Following through on a commitment made early this year, fundraisers that feature Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau or other MPs who serve as Ministers will be hosted in publicly available spaces and meet strong new standards for transparency, including advance posting, timely reporting of event details and guests, and facilitating media coverage. The Liberal Party’s own independent steps come in advance of legislation that the government has announced will be proposed later this year.

“Canadians expect our political leaders to meet the highest standards for transparency in political fundraising, and these steps do exactly that,” said Anna Gainey, President of the Liberal Party of Canada. “Making fundraising events more open than ever before is an important next step in our work together to strengthen our democratic process and institutions, and we call upon all parties’ leaders and leadership candidates to join us in taking action.”

At liberal.ca/openfundraising, Canadians will now be able to view upcoming Liberal fundraising events posted at least 3 days in advance, and access event reports and lists of guests no more than 45 days after each event. Members of the press may contact the Liberal Party to facilitate media coverage of any such events.

The Liberal Party of Canada now has the broadest base of grassroots supporters of any Canadian political party, and is funded entirely by grassroots contributions. Over 46,000 Canadians chipped in the last quarter of 2016 alone – with 81% of donations under $100, and 93% of all donations under $200.

– 30 –