Ignatieff still mired in debt from race

Michael Ignatieff still owes more than $777,000 in debts on his unsuccessful bid last year for the Liberal leadership.

Campaign finance reports, released yesterday by Elections Canada, show that the runner-up to eventual winner Stéphane Dion spent more than $2.2-million on his bid.

Mr. Ignatieff's spending was outpaced only by third-place finisher Bob Rae, who reported in June that he spent $2.3-million. Mr. Dion's campaign cost $1.7-million.

Liberal Party rules set a spending limit of $3.4-million, but a 2004 ban on corporate donations meant that none of the candidates reached that sum.

In fact, Mr. Ignatieff's campaign still owes about a third of its costs, including $529,500 in outstanding loans and $247,238 in unpaid bills.

The loans came from his senior leadership campaign advisers, including campaign manager Ian Davey, and from a Montreal credit union that accepted personal loan guarantees from supporters, including former Ontario premier David Peterson.

But Mr. Ignatieff's campaign also borrowed $50,000 from Magna International Inc., the auto-parts empire owned by Frank Stronach, father of Liberal MP Belinda Stronach.

Under elections laws, Mr. Ignatieff has another year to raise the money to pay off the debts, after which they would be deemed illegal contributions. Candidates must get the money from eligible donors, and are not allowed to pay the debts off themselves because of limits on donations by individuals.

Mr. Ignatieff was the front-runner for most of the nine-month Liberal leadership race, but a series of gaffes and controversies cost him support in the home stretch.

When both he and Mr. Rae stalled at the convention, Mr. Dion used an alliance with fourth-place candidate Gerard Kennedy to run up the middle.

Candidates who did not get that far are also still paying off heavy debts.

Toronto-area MP Maurizio Bevilacqua, who became the first of the 11 official candidates to withdraw from the race four months before the convention, still owes $296,000 in loans and unpaid bills.

His report, also released by Elections Canada yesterday, shows he spent $384,925 on his campaign, plus $60,000 in deposits and fees paid to the Liberal Party.