O’Toole spent $1 million in party funds on election studio: sources

O’Toole appointed chair of Conservative Fund was “aware” of the seven-figure expenses for the downtown Ottawa broadcast studio, party says.

Erin O’Toole’s team spent more than $1 million in party funds to set up and run their downtown Ottawa election studio, multiple sources tell Global News.

O’Toole’s pick for the party’s powerful financial board, Conservative Fund chair James Dodds, was aware of the seven-figure expenditures to set up and run the studio over the roughly six months leading to September’s election.

The party’s elected national council was also “advised” of the expenditures “as a part of the (Conservative) Fund’s regular financial reports,” a spokesperson for the Conservatives confirmed.

Around the same time in early 2021 that the party was setting up the studio, O’Toole’s office also used taxpayer funds to purchase roughly $74,000 in “video communication and broadcast equipment,” though O’Toole’s office denied any public funds went into the partisan studio operation.

“Our broadcast studio and its associated working offices and media filing room was one of the many innovative ways we decided to run our campaign. It not only gave us the flexibility to reach tens of thousands of Canadians while recognizing the challenges of travelling during a pandemic, it also meant a smaller national tour cost which allowed us to invest in other key areas of our campaign,” wrote Cory Hann, the Conservatives’ director of communications, in an email to Global News.

“Like with all political parties, election expenses will be disclosed to Elections Canada, and we expect to file ours in the coming weeks.”

O’Toole’s team rented multiple large conference rooms at the Westin Ottawa, a posh downtown hotel within eyeshot of Parliament Hill in the lead up to the 2021 campaign.

The party used the space to set up a fully functional broadcast studio for holding press conferences, hosting tele-town halls, and recording videos and fundraising appeals in the lead up to the 2021 federal election.