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TORONTO — A loophole in Ontario’s campaign finance legislation, now closed, enabled the Progressive Conservatives to fundraise $12.6 million last year — nearly double what the governing Liberals collected.

Elections Ontario filings also show the province’s three parties, including the New Democrats, reaped the benefits of last-minute fundraising before the rules changed Jan. 1, collecting a total of $2.2 million in the final week of the year alone.

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The old rules allowed individuals, corporations and unions to donate $9,975 to a party each year, but they were also allowed to donate the same amount during a byelection period.

The Liberals raised $2.6 million during the Whitby-Oshawa byelection, but after they came under fire for the loophole, they wouldn’t make further use of it, passing up extra fundraising during the Scarborough-Rouge River vote and the Niagara West-Glanbrook and Ottawa-Vanier byelections.

Together with their donations under the annual allowable amounts, the Liberals raised a total of $6.5 million in 2016.

The Progressive Conservatives, meanwhile, raised $3.1 million under the annual amounts, $2 million for Whitby-Oshawa, $3.9 million for Scarborough-Rouge River and $3.6 million for Niagara West-Glanbrook and Ottawa-Vanier — which rules allowed them to continue to collect until three months after the vote itself.

The NDP raised $3.4 million in 2016, which still leaves the party in debt.