Want to win a seat in Province House? You don't have to break the bank
Disclosure records outline election campaign costs and donations in recent race
A review of campaign expenses from the recent Nova Scotia provincial election shows the efficiency the Progressive Conservatives used to achieve their record-setting victory, the benefits of incumbency and the fact that you don't always have to spend a lot of money to win a seat in Province House.
Cumberland South MLA Tory Rushton exhibited all three points in the November election, with the lowest campaign cost of any winning candidate. The campaign for the cabinet minister and popular MLA cost $12,966.87.
Joining Rushton in the frugal club was re-elected Shelburne MLA Nolan Young, the only other victorious candidate to spend less than $20,000 on their campaign — $15,810.07, to be precise.
At the other end of the spectrum was Danielle Barkhouse, the Speaker of the House, who successfully held the Chester-St. Margaret's seat.
Barkhouse's Progressive Conservative campaign was the most expensive of any winning campaign, coming in at $73,329.06. About 72 per cent of the campaign costs went to publicity and advertising, according to campaign disclosure documents posted on the Elections Nova Scotia website.
The other winning campaigns that topped $60,000 were: NDP candidate Lina Hamid in Fairview-Clayton Park (about $60,300, although the Liberals spent more); NDP candidate Krista Gallagher in Halifax Chebucto (about $64,000); NDP candidate Paul Wozney in Sackville-Cobequid (about $65,400); and PC incumbent Brian Wong in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank (about $60,345).
Campaigns are funded through a combination of direct donations and support from political parties.
The Progressive Conservatives won 43 seats in the election, followed by the NDP with nine and the Liberals with two. Independent candidate Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin was re-elected in Cumberland North.
One of the major campaign expenses for the Progressive Conservatives was polling and research. The party spent $213,000 on it during the campaign — about 10 times more than the Liberals — and the results show the benefit of that move and the insight it provided.
The PCs won at least nine seats despite being notably outspent by the Liberals or the NDP. Party insiders say they were able to do that thanks to the information the polling showed them about how strong they were in those districts, allowing them to devote resources to other races that appeared tighter.
One of the best examples was in Yarmouth, where newcomer Nick Hilton defeated longtime Liberal MLA and party leader Zach Churchill.
Hilton's campaign cost almost $44,290 compared to Churchill's almost $63,300. The PCs increased their focus on the seat in the campaign's dying days thanks to what polling research showed.
As for the other party leaders, Premier Tim Houston's campaign cost about $42,625, NDP Leader Claudia Chender's cost about $48,000 and Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds's unsuccessful bid to win a seat in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank cost just shy of $3,000.
Campaign records show there were also wide variations in the amount of money victorious candidates fundraised during the campaign.
Houston the biggest draw for donors
Houston raised the most money by far, pulling in almost $60,000 in donations.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson's campaign in Antigonish raised about $34,500. Rounding out the top three was Hilton's successful bid to unseat Churchill in Yarmouth.
The nurse and former municipal councillor pulled in $28,795 compared to Churchill, who received just a little less than $6,000 in donations.
Other notable fundraising totals included Barkhouse ($25,300), Smith-McCrossin (about $22,500) and Brian Comer. The minister responsible for mental health and addictions raised $23,000 for his successful re-election bid in Cape Breton East.
Many fundraising filing totals were much lower.
In fact, eight of the nine winning NDP MLAs registered no donations for their campaigns, according to the documents. The one exception was Wozney, who recorded $100.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the NDP said that although the candidates' filings did not include donations, all of the party's winning candidates did get donations. According to a statement, the party supports local campaigns by centrally processing donations and then transferring the funds to the respective campaigns.
The party also does the work of processing the donation and issuing the receipt centrally.