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It may never be known how much influence foreign money, wielded by hostile political advocacy groups, played in the Conservative Party’s defeat in 2015.

A complaint led by defeated Tory MP Joan Crockatt claims that federal election rules were broken by organizations like Leadnow, which used money donated from the U.S. to skew the result.

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That may or may not be the case, and the Commissioner of Elections should look closely at the allegation.

But what is clear is that there is a loophole in the Elections Act big enough to drive a bulldozer through — and it is Parliament’s job to close it.

To recap, the Calgary Herald reported this week that Crockatt and others lodged a complaint with Elections Canada alleging foreign money was donated to third-party organizations and then used to influence the 2015 election, potentially in contravention of spending limits.

A total of 114 third parties — people or groups producing election advertising who are not registered candidates, political parties or riding associations — were registered with Elections Canada in 2015, up from 55 in 2011.