Annual financial statements for calendar year 2003 for all provincially registered political parties are now available for download from the Elections BC website. The section that provides the reports has a numbered IP address, http://142.36.252.26/bcimg/, click on it and enter New Democrat, Liberal or Green where it asks for "Partial Name Of The Filer" and you will get a screen of reports that have been filed. Some of the reports are hundreds of pages long, but the table below summarizes some of the key information.

The NDP raised more than twice as much from individuals as the Liberals, but the Liberals raised more than 300 times as much from incorporated and unincorporated businesses, $3.7 million compared to the NDP's $11,000. Despite all the rhetoric about the role of unions, their contributions represented less than 5% of the funds raised by New Democrats. The Green Party appears to be almost dormant.

The two to one contribution advantage New Democrats enjoyed from individuals is even more important when the size of individual donations is examined. Most of the individual donations to the Liberals, 72%, were from people who gave $250 or more. Slightly over 50% of individual donations to the NDP were from people who donated less than $250. That means that more voters supported the NDP with contributions, another reflection of what the polls are showing. By providing over 71% of the funding for the Liberal party, corporations may be able to help Gordon Campbell buy an expensive campaign, but it is not the same as having the support of thousands of people who are willing to dig into their own pockets to change the government.