When Green Party leader Mike Schreiner took the June provincial election to become the member of provincial parliament for Guelph, he did so while claiming over $15,000 less in campaign expenses than in his third place finish in 2014.
Schreiner was also able to raise more than double the amount in contributions to his campaign than either the Liberal or PC candidate in the election.
All candidates in the June election were required to report audited election statements to Elections Ontario within six months of the end of their campaign.
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner, who won the June contest locally, claimed total campaign period expenses of $119,864.14, which was over $15,000 less than the $136,194.43 claimed in his losing campaign in 2014.
Compared to other party leaders, Schreiner's $119,864.14 is higher than both premier Doug Ford's campaign spend of $66,889.01 and the $101,485.04 claimed by NDP leader Andrea Horwath.
From May 9 to Sept. 7 of 2018, Schreiner claimed a total of $58,090.43 in contributions to his campaign. T-shirt sales accounted for $935 toward his campaign’s income column.
Schreiner’s campaign spent more than $47,000 in advertising and $13,831.02 on brochures in the campaign. He claimed $36.91 for personal expenses.
Aggie Mlynarz, who finished third under the NDP banner, did not file her financial statements to Elections Ontario before the deadline. Under the province’s Election Finances Act, a candidate failing to report audited statements by Dec. 5, 2018 could be barred from running again.
Reached for comment Wednesday, Mlynarz said the filing is the responsibility of the NDP party, its CFO and its accountant.
Ray Ferraro, who placed second in the election, claimed total campaign expenses of $25,505.42. Of his $24,050 in contributions, Ferraro’s largest individual funder was himself, at $2,661.58.
Ferraro’s campaign spent about $4,500 in advertising and $901 on brochures. He claimed $2,872.67 in personal expenses.
Liberal candidate Sly Castaldi claimed $77,792.39 in her fourth-place finish in the election. Her campaign received a total of $24,327.21 in contributions.
Castaldi’s campaign spent $28,404.95 on advertising during the campaign.
Juanita Burnett of the Communist Party of Canada claimed $339.57, while None of the Above Party candidate Paul Taylor claimed zero expenses. Michael Riehl of the Libertarian Party also did not claim expenses by the deadline.
