Charlie Angus is far ahead of the NDP leadership pack in fundraising, new figures from Elections Canada show.

Even though rival Peter Julian had a two-month head start, Angus has raised twice as much money to date.

The New Democratic Party’s first quarterly report for the year — which details party contributions from Jan. 1, 2017 to Mar. 31, 2017 — shows Angus raised $110,765.00 and was the only candidate to hit the $100K fundraising mark. Manitoba member of Parliament Niki Ashton came next with $65,521.00, while Quebec MP Guy Caron pulled in $57,235.00. Julian trailed behind with $19,143.08.

Together, the latter three leadership candidates raised $141,899.00 in Q1.

Julian was the first and only candidate registered with Elections Canada in 2016 to run in the NDP leadership race and raised $32,026.00 in last year’s fourth quarter, according to Elections Canada filings. The British Columbia MP — the only candidate to have received caucus endorsements so far — has thus far raised $51,169.08 in total, putting him dead last out of those four candidates.

Robin MacLachlan, an NDP insider and vice-president of communication and public relations firm Summa Strategies, said he didn’t find the numbers particularly shocking and that he’s not surprised Angus raised nearly double that of his closest competitor.

“Charlie’s one of the best fundraisers the NDP has… as a member of Parliament, as an activist,” said MacLachlan, pointing to Angus’s experience as a musician. “Musicians struggle to make ends meet and Charlie’s a very successful musician. I think that’s quite helpful to him because he has lots of assets at his disposal. He’s quite popular in the arts community … and he’s just one of the better organizers that I’ve seen in the party.”

Looking forward, MacLachlan said he believes Angus will be able to sustain his momentum.

With regard to Julian’s lacklustre performance, MacLachlan said he believes the longtime, “stalwart” MP is challenged by the ongoing election campaign in B.C.

“Peter may be trying to be respectful of the importance of the membership focusing on that… they’re in a realistic shot of government within a week or so,” he said. “I would put a star by that number.”

But the low numbers should still cause the Julian campaign team some concern, MacLachlan added.

“I’d be concerned – not necessarily by how little he raised – but by the fact he raised more in the end of 2016, than he has in the beginning of 2017. To me … that suggests he’s tapped out his significant donors a bit, and I would be looking at the next quarter to see if he’s able to sustain his support.”

Angus, who represents a Northern Ontario riding in the House of Commons, became the second leadership hopeful to throw his hat in the ring, in late February 2017, and Caron announced his candidacy the following day. Ashton launched her campaign in early March.

The fifth candidate to enter the race, Ibrahim Bruno El-Khoury, registered with Elections Canada on March 27 and did not receive any donations in the first quarter. Former veterans ombudsman Pat Stogran was the latest to jump in; he registered on April 13 and officially launched his campaign a week later.

An NDP spokesperson confirmed Monday that neither El-Khoury nor Stogran have met the party’s requirements to become official candidates: an entry fee of $30,000 and 500 signatures from members “in good standing” with the party.

Anticipation has been building up over whether Ontario Deputy NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will also join the field. Candidates have until July 3 to register to run.

The next leadership debate is scheduled for May 28 in Sudbury, just after the Conservatives elect their next leader. The NDP elects its next leader by preferential ballot in October this year.

The NDP raised $908,892 in total in the first quarter – its worst showing since third quarter 2011. The party’s fundraising numbers have continued to tank each quarter since the 2015 federal election.

– With files from Kyle Duggan