N.B. political parties sharpen fundraising messaging

Although the threat of a provincial election in New Brunswick has receded until at least the new year, the province’s political parties are busy honing their messaging with appeals for donations as they look to top up their war chests.

A recent fundraising email from Progressive Conservative party campaign manager Steve Outhouse takes shots at the CBC and portrays the party as a defender of so-called parental rights.

“(Liberal Leader) Susan Holt and the CBC have a simple message: If you’re a parent that wants to be involved your child’s life, you’re ‘angry,’” the letter reads, appealing for donations to help the party fight against Holt and the CBC to get its message out.

To St. Thomas University political scientist Jamie Gilles, the approach seems to be a newer one for the Maritime conservative movement, which is often seen as somewhat more moderate than those found nationally or in the western part of the county. It’s one that reflects the involvement of Outhouse, who hails from the region but who most recently managed Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s re-election campaign.

“It feels sort of Alberta, Saskatchewan politics, it doesn’t feel authentic New Brunswick or that all the other MLAs in the PC caucus are on still on board with this or sorted out their differences on this,” Gilles said.

Gilles said the approach may serve to alienate some more of the more moderate PC members, especially so soon after the party was torn apart over the handling of a review of the province’s school gender identity policy.

The PCs have also looked to draw donations from outside the region, with a specific website to elicit donations from conservatives across the country, with Outhouse writing that he has “never seen a provincial election with such huge ramifications for the entire country.”

“Your donation will help make sure we have every opportunity to mount a winning campaign,” he says.

University of New Brunswick political science professor JP Lewis says the party’s focus on issues that rile up the base can be an effective way to bring in donations.

“A fundraising plea is going to be more targeted to certain issues that maybe there isn’t as much interest in the general voting population, but the parties know this is what gets them money,” he said.

The provincial Liberals have also sharpened their messaging in recent weeks. An appeal for donations last week took aim squarely at Higgs, describing him as an out-of-touch bully who is failing to help the province’s most vulnerable.

“While some people 👀 are focused on misinformation and division, we’re focused on you,” a post on one of the party’s social media pages says.

Lewis says the tactic is a Canadian political classic, one that was used to great effect by the Liberals when they defeated former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Greens have been busy taking shots at both traditional parties, claiming that the revolving door of both has left New Brunswick better off. The solution, as they propose it, is to elect as many Greens as possible to ensure the average New Brunswicker’s interests are represented.

Gilles says the demise of the People’s Alliance as a force in the legislature has left the Greens to stake sole possession of the contrarian third-party turf.

“That tactic of looking at both PC and Liberal past governments and saying, ‘Look, whose interests are they looking out for?’” he said.

“It’s not a bad message when the others start to sling mud at each other.”

Only the PCs’ financial returns for the first half of this year have been released, but at the end of last year the party held a commanding fundraising lead over the other parties. The PCs raised $351,049 and had a surplus of $375,996.

The Liberals spent most of the year without a permanent leader, with Holt winning the leadership in August. They trailed the PCs in fundraising by a wide margin, bringing in $201,801 and finishing the year with a surplus of $277.882.

The Greens posted a surplus of $121,900 and raised $80,276 through the year.