The Liberals gained the upper hand on the Conservatives in party fundraising in the fourth quarter of last year for the first time in three years.

The Liberals collected $4.82 million in donations during the period that covered both the final three weeks of the election, in comparison to the Conservatives, who fundraised $4.19 million from the start of October until the end of December. The Conservatives’ total was second most among Canada’s federal political parties.

The Conservatives had only slightly more than two-thirds the number of donors of the Liberals. The average Conservative donor had deeper pockets than those of the Liberals; per person, Conservative donors gave $133, while the average financial supporter of the Liberals gave $105.

While Canada’s two largest political parties both faced struggles during the election campaign, they emerged facing opposing realities. After returning to power in government by salvaging the most seats in the House of Commons, the Liberals took a quieter approach to governance. The political spotlight towards the end of last year instead shifted to the Conservatives, who faced an identity crisis following the announcement of leader Andrew Scheer in early December, that he would be stepping down once the party chose a new lead.

Prior to the final three months of 2019, the last time the Liberals out-fundraised the Conservatives was the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a Liberal Party spokesperson.

“The Liberal Party of Canada’s strong financial position and efficiency means we can start 2020 strong and stay ready for a campaign, whenever it may come,” Liberal Party spokesperson Braeden Caley wrote in a statement.

The Liberals previously hailed their third quarter fundraising effort as “record-breaking,” saying that the $7.28 million they raised from 53,341 between July and September was the most ever that the party brought in from its contributors in its history. The Conservatives still bested them in those months, drawing $10.14 million from 61,996 donors.

READ MORE: Conservatives top Liberals in Q3 fundraising

The New Democratic Party placed third in fundraising dollars collected in the final three months of 2019 by collecting $2.76 million from 22,909 supporters, for an average of $121 per person.

The Green Party of Canada had the fourth most contributions in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing in $1.67 million from 16,113 donors, which equals an average of $103 per supporter – the lowest average of the five most successful parties in the most recent election.

The Bloc Québécois followed the Greens with $580,871 collected from 5,401 supporters, for an average of $108 per donor.

All of the parties’ fundraising totals were down compared to the previous quarter, which included the two months proceeding when the election was called and September, when the campaign began.

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