POLITICAL players on the North Shore were among those whose donations of cash helped bolster the coffers of both B.C. Liberal and NDP parties last year.
Elections B.C. recently released lists of those who contributed money to political parties in 2012.
The lists showed the both parties received significant sums in political donations in advance of this years general election.
The B.C. Liberal party received donations of more than $10 million in 2012. Of that, $5 million came from corporate donors, $3.8 million came from individuals and roughly $790,000 came from other business organizations.
The B.C. NDP pulled in $7 million in political donations last year. Most of that $4.2 million was from individuals (including almost $2 million in contributions of $250 or less), while $1.6 million was from trade unions. Corporations also donated almost $1 million to the NDP last year.
On the North Shore, waterfront industries were significant political players.
The B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents terminal operators and businesses around the province, donated almost $108,000 last year, including $99,350 to the B.C. Liberals and $8,600 to the NDP.
Seaspan Marine also made $31,000 in political contributions. More than $20,000 went to the B.C. Liberals. About $10,500 went to the NDP.
Neptune Terminals coughed up $19,000 for political parties. Of that, $13,000 went to the Liberals and $6,000 went to the NDP. Fibreco donated $8,200 most of that to the Liberals.
Nexen donated $7,700 half to the Liberals and half to the NDP. Western Stevedoring and Allied Shipbuilders also donated smaller amounts to the Liberals.
On the other side of the political ledger, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union donated $13,000 to the NDP. The Shipyard General Workers Federation donated $600 to the NDP, as did its president George MacPherson, who donated $350.
Other companies on the North Shore also made political donations. Grouse Mountain Resorts donated $17,300 to the Liberals. Rocky Mountaineer Railtours and its affiliated companies Rocky Mountaineer Vacations and Great Canadian Railtours also donated $10,700 to the B.C. Liberals.
Real estate companies and others also waded into politics. Onni Property Management donated $13,000 to the Liberals as did Park Royal Shopping Centre, which donated $3,350. Province-wide, real estate developers and others involved in construction were big contributors to the Liberal coffers.
The film industry also got their dibs in, with the Motion Picture Production Industry Association donating $7,000 to the NDP, while its president Peter Leitch donated $1,200 to the Liberals. Vancouver Film Studios donated $2,500 to the NDP and $1,750 to the Liberals.
The directors guild also donated $1,800 to the NDP as well as $350 to the Liberals.
Province-wide, most of the big donations to the NDP were from unions. The United Steelworkers Union and its various locals donated the most more than $377,000 to the party, while the Canadian Union of Public Employees gave $305,000. Other big union donations came from the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, representing public sector workers, who gave more than $145,000, the Hospital Employees Union ($97,000) and the B.C. Federation of Labour ($109,000.)
Some of the NDPs biggest corporate donations came from Aquilini Investment Group, which donated more than $100,000 to the party and a similar amount to the Liberals.
The NDP also received donations from mining, forestry and energy companies, including $14,000 from Encana. Encana also donated $144,000 to the Liberals. Kinder Morgan donated $4,000 to the NDP.
Lindsay Meredith, a professor of marketing at Simon Fraser University, said its important to know who is contributing what to political parties.
You want to have a rough idea which people are contributing and more importantly how much money they are contributing, he said.
Meredith said theres an assumption usually right that those who donate money to political parties are hoping to get something in return.
People who make substantial contributions to political parties are not exactly viewed as a foreign force, or the enemy, he said. Large contributors dont have the home phone hung up on them when they call.
Getting that audience is a crucial issue. Whether or not important people ultimately side with you or against you, getting heard is the first big trick.
In an ideal scenario, there would be very low limits on how much anyone could donate to political parties, he said, because people have largely differing amounts of wealth available.
On the North Shore, political hopefuls also ponied up to the parties they represent. Sitting Liberal MLAs Jane Thornthwaite, Ralph Sultan, Naomi Yamamoto and Joan McIntyre all made small donations to the B.C. Liberals, as did new Liberal candidate Jordan Sturdy. A company owned by McIntyre and her husband Andrew Pottinger also donated $725 to the NDP.
NDP candidates Craig Keating, Jim Hanson and Terry Platt all donated to the NDP, as did City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto.
Former West Vancouver mayor Mark Sager and former Conservative MP John Reynolds both donated small amounts to the B.C. Liberals.
