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MONTREAL — Dozens of suspects accused of corruption at Quebec’s municipal and provincial levels have also been involved in national politics, giving more than $2 million in donations to federal parties, an investigation by The Canadian Press has revealed.

An analysis by The Canadian Press involving all 102 individuals charged after sweeps by Quebec’s anti-corruption police squad shows that nearly half — 45 of them — made registered legal contributions to federal parties from 1993 to 2011.

The actual extent of their connections to federal politics, however, may never be known.

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An ongoing public inquiry in Quebec has heard explosive allegations about illegal political financing, bid-rigging, collusion and Mafia ties in the province’s construction industry, but it does not have a mandate to explore whether such activities have occurred in the federal realm.

At the inquiry, industry players have described using political donations to gain influence at the provincial level and help unlock public funding for projects that had frequently been rigged at the municipal level.

Which begs the question: Has this occurred elsewhere in Canadian politics?