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“We had to pinch every penny and save every dime, but we did all right,” Horwath is quoted as saying.

Well, neither Holt Renfrew nor W10 Colours are the type of stores that offer coupons, so there are no pennies being pinched now.

On the upside, Horwath did bill a paltry $4,300.10 at a store more relatable to the average Canadian — she shopped at The Bay in 2014. That expense was put down as “advertising,” a service The Bay doesn’t offer to political parties.

After 2014, charges made directly to high-end clothing stores stop but that doesn’t mean Horwath stopped shopping. Her party has reimbursed her more than $50,000 since 2011.

In fact, one expense paid to Horwath in 2011 is listed at $7,738.35 for office supplies. That same year, a $7,621.85 charge from Holt Renfrew was billed as “office supplies.”

Unless Holt’s has been selling 400 thread count Egyptian cotton photocopier paper, I don’t think either expense would qualify as office supplies.

How many of the reimbursements out of the total of $54,618.22 were for expensive clothes or to supplement Horwath’s lavish lifestyle?

Photo by Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Well, that is a question the party won’t answer. In an e-mailed statement, the party would only say, this is all above board.

“Like other political leaders, she is provided with party funds — not public dollars — to purchase professional attire,” the statement read.

This is what NDP donations are going to support.

The party also claimed in their statement that, “When not performing professional duties required of her role, Andrea likes to kick back in jeans and a T-shirt.”