War chests & troops on the ground

KEY LIBERAL DONORS

Val and the late Marcel Thompson, founders of Frontier Toyota — $2,600

James Richardson & Sons vice-president and general counsel Michael Guttormson — $2,100

Canadian Museum for Human Rights champion Gail Asper — $1,000

Total Donations: 195 (includes leadership contest donations)*

KEY TORY DONORS

The Borger family, owners of Borland Construction and Ladco developers — $13,400

T.L Penner Construction president and operations manager Travis Penner and Greg Penner — $8,000

Merit Contractors Association executive director Harvey Miller — $5,025

Shelter Canadian Properties Owner Arni Thorsteinson — $4,700

Dentist Robert Diamond — $3,600

Total Donations: 2,486

KEY NDP DONORS

Among the NDP’s top donors, it’s difficult to find people who aren’t MLAs, senior government employees or party stalwarts.

The Borger family, owners of Borland Construction and Ladco developers — $24,800

The El Tassi family, owners of Peerless Garment — $11,050

Architect Dudley Thompson — $4,250

Canad Inns president Leo Ledohowsi — $3340

Total donations: 1,882

THE BIG GIVE

Party donations over $1,000 in the last two years

PC: 616 donations

NDP: 406 donations

Liberal: 25*

THE SMALL GIVE

Tally of all donations under $250 in the last two years

PC: $868,221

NDP: $490,773

Liberal: $112,686*

The $3,000 CLUB

($3,000 is the maximum annual individual donation allowed)

Winnipeg lawyer and businessman David Asper — PC, 2013

Borland Construction president Henry Borger — NDP, 2012

Wife Anita Borger — NDP, 2012 and 2013

United Food and Commercial Workers union staffer Blake Crothers — NDP, 2013

Samira El Tassi, whose family owns Peerless Garment — NDP, 2012

Premier Greg Selinger’s chief of staff Liam Martin — NDP, 2013

Green party candidate John Redekopp — Green, 2013

Premier Greg Selinger — NDP, 2012 and 2013

Winnipeg developer Sandy Shindleman — NDP, 2013

Winnipeg developer Arni Thorsteinson — PC donor to Brian Pallister’s leadership campaign in 2012

Viewpoints pollster and senior NDP strategist Leslie Turnbull — NDP, 2013

Winnipeg MLA Melanie Wight — NDP, 2012 and 2013

— Source: Elections Manitoba party finance filings, 2012-2013

* Liberal figures include data only from 2012. The party has yet to file its list of donors for 2013.

RIDINGS READY TO NOMINATE

We’re still two years out from the next provincial election but already three Progressive Conservative riding associations have met the fundraising and volunteer recruitment criteria set out by the party and are ready to hold nomination meetings. They’re slated for early June. Here’s the rundown.

Rossmere

Real estate agent Regan Archambault plans to seek the nomination in Rossmere, a riding the NDP won easily in 2011 by 2,000 votes. But it was also held by former federal and provincial cabinet minister Vic Toews when he was a cabinet minister in Gary Filmon’s Tory government in the late 1990s.

Though Pallister says he wants to see contested nominations in all non-held ridings, so far Rossmere appears to be a one-horse race.

Riel

Rochelle Squires, a former journalist who now works for St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover, will seek the nomination again. Squires lost to Riel MLA Christine Melnick in 2011. Melnick’s recent ouster from the NDP caucus could make Riel a fascinating riding in 2016. Melnick is still a member of the party, and could seek the NDP nomination again. It’s not yet clear what the party will do if she does.

Squires is not likely to be acclaimed as the PC candidate. Nancy Cooke, who ran for school board trustee in 2011, is expected to seek the party’s nomination as well.

Gimli

Winnipeg Beach resident Jeff Wharton says he’s making a bid to be the PC candidate again. He’s the former owner of Globe Moving and Storage, and still consults for the company he sold in 2010. Gimli is in the top-ten closest NDP-held ridings. Housing Minister Peter Bjornson won the riding by 800 votes last election.