FILE PHOTO: Federal Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau talks with reporters after addressing students at Citadel High School in Halifax on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau has already raised $95,000 in donations for his leadership campaign, or about 10 per cent of the allowable budget for the entire race.
According to numbers posted on the Elections Canada website, Mr. Trudeau has already collected more than enough money to cover the $75,000 entry fee.
Donors who offered the maximum contribution of $1,200 to the campaign include Mr. Trudeau, his wife Sophie Grégoire, his brother Sacha, Liberal MPs Dominic LeBlanc and John McCallum, former senator Leo Kolber, former MP Navdeep Bains, activist Craig Kielburger and businessman Stephen Bronfman. Mr. Trudeau has also received donations from advisers such as Daniel Gagnier, Gerald Butts, Herb Metcalfe and Bruce Young.
Overall, the Trudeau campaign has received donations from 332 supporters.
Mr. Trudeau was the first candidate to officially register for the Liberal leadership race, and he is the only candidate to have published his fundraising numbers on the website of the federal electoral watchdog. His fundraising data goes from the start of his campaign in early October until the official launch of the campaign on Oct. 14.
Toronto lawyer Deborah Coyne was the second candidate to officially enter the race, according to the Liberal Party of Canada, although her fundraising figures have yet to be published.
A number of other Liberals have mused about running in the race to replace Michael Ignatieff, although the non-refundable entry fee, which needs to be paid in full by mid-January, is seen as too stiff for some of them to actually enter the race.
The spending limit for the entire race is $950,000.