Kamloops MP spent $175,000 to be re-elected

KAMLOOPS – The numbers are in and our local member of Parliament spent nearly $175,000 in her bid to represent the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding.

Disclosure information on the Elections Canada website shows MP Cathy McLeod as having spent nearly $175,000, about $10,000 more than NDP candidate Bill Sundhu, the runner up for the riding. Green Party candidate Matthew Greenwood kept his expenses low, spending little more than $2,000 in his bid for a federal seat. The disclosure forms for Liberal candidate Steve Powrie have not yet been released.

Contributions from the local Conservative association made up the majority of McLeod’s campaign budget, which also included more than $25,000 in personal donations and a $10,000 loan from a Conservative riding association in the Lower Mainland.

She finished the marathon campaign with nearly $29,000 in unspent contributions and 35 per cent of the vote.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin at bkergin@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 3:24 p.m., Feb. 23, 2016, to correct the vote per cent.