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In the run-up to the May 9 provincial election, the B.C. Liberals are counting on big money to help bring them a win, despite Premier Christy Clark’s repeated claims to the contrary.

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Clark has steadfastly defended her province’s political donation system, which has no limit on donation size and permits people who don’t live in B.C. — and even those who don’t live in Canada — to donate. The Western province is a significant outlier compared with the rest of Canada. The federal government and most other provinces have strict donation caps and only allow Canadians to contribute.

A National Post analysis of B.C. political donations from 2005 to 2017 found that 25.12 per cent of donations to the Liberal party come from those giving $20,000 or more. Over half of all money raised by the Liberals, or 54.05 per cent, comes from donations over $5,000. During a similar period (2005 to 2016), 19.59 per cent of the B.C. NDP’s money came from donations over $20,000, and 30.45 per cent came from donations over $5,000.

With no caps, some donors in the province show great largesse. The Wall family donated over $400,000 to the Liberals in 2016 alone. Real estate magnate Peter Wall, and his nephew Bruno Wall also contributed to Christy Clark’s leadership race in 2011, and have been big donors since then. Bruno Wall did not reply to a request for comment.