As promised in this space yesterday, we now have all the fundraising numbers by the major parties as released by Elections Canada through a searchable database.

The surprise remains the Liberals (much to the consternation of folks in some circles).

The Grits raised a little more than $4 million after you add together money received by the central party from donors and by riding associations. That's well up from the $980,000 raised in the same period last year.

But this is where that consternation comes in: the Liberals held a leadership convention in May (you can be forgiven for forgetting about it since it was, in fact, a coronation), which means that dues paid by delegates have to be counted as donations.

The Liberals say that added about $1 million to the total, even though most of that money was spent on holding the actual convention.

Figures for other parties include:

• $3.96 million for the Conservatives, up a little from the same period last year.
• $711,000 for the NDP, pretty much the same as last year.


• $194,000 for the Green party, a small decrease.


• $199,000 for the Bloc.

Now to compare the Bloc's fundraising numbers requires a HUGE asterisk. Suffice it to say, they move money between the ridings and the central party different than most. It's in no way illegal or wrong, just different.

That, and there's also the fact they receive almost $3 million a year through election financing. And since they only run 75 candidates in one province, they are capped at spending no more than about $5 million in any election. So, they don't worry too much about fundraising.

— James Fitz-Morris

The federal government will announce renewed funding for the Canada Music Fund on Friday, CBC News has learned.

Heritage Minister James Moore will make the announcement in Montreal to extend the program for another five years.

An independent organization that provides grants to often cash-strapped Canadian musicians, the Canada Music Fund was launched in 2001 to help support the music and recording industries.

Last year, it received almost $23 million in government cash and about a third of that ended up in the hands of FACTOR, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings.

The program has been credited with the success of Canadian artists across the musical spectrum, from the alternative-country Corb Lund to indie pop-rockers Metric.

Funding for the program was set to expire in March and there had been fears across the music industry that the government might refuse to renew the funding.

But now CBC News has learned the program will be continued for a full five years.

— James Cudmore

The federal Liberal party doesn't appear to be suffering from the global economic crisis.

Newly released fundraising figures show the Grits raked it in this past spring.

The party raised almost $3.9-million dollars in the the second quarter of 2009. That is more than four times the amount it brought in during the same period a year ago.

The Liberals aren't being shy about what's making the difference either: One party official calls it the "Ignatieff effect."

Last year, of course, Stéphane Dion was the Liberal leader and many Grits weren't exactly rallying to the cause.

Another factor this year is that the party has paid much more attention to the process of fundraising and to trying to enlarge their base of support.

This time last year the Liberals had about 9,000 or so contributors. This year there are closer to 19,000.

Elections Canada is expected to release numbers from the other parties either later today or tomorrow. We'll update when we get them.

— James Fitz-Morris

Prime Minister Stephen Harper yesterday wanted to highlight the efforts his government has taken to stimulate the economy.

But in the process, he decided to hold a photo op rather than face pesky questions from the nosey media.

To be effective, however, such photo ops need to be something most people can relate to and understand instantly.

The Home Renovation Tax Credit fits the bill nicely. Anyone doing renos this year can get a tax rebate on up to $10,000 of work and supplies.

Easy to understand, applicable to many people. So, the next question is: where to stage such an event?

Canadian Tire?

Nope — too much Liberal red. People might think this was a Liberal idea and that would defeat the purpose.

So, how about Home Depot?

Orange logo, orange aprons on staff. Even the shelves in some stores are the shade favoured by the NDP! So that's out, too.

(Also, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did appoint the president of Home Depot Canada to a special economic advisory panel. So advertising for the company could be perceived as favourtism.)

Let's try Rona. Perfect!

Blue logo (check); blue smock on store clerk (check); blue shirt on "average Canadian" (father, Greg, a real estate agent, mother, Kristi, a teacher, and son, Jamieson, 14 weeks) with whom the prime minister just happens to be shopping (check).

The prime mnister said very little during the little less than 10 minuts it took to shoot the photo op. But sometimes the right image can be worth thousands of words.

— James Fitz-Morris

The Mexican Embassy in Ottawa is no longer going to give Canadian journalists a taste of their own medicine (or in this case - the Canadian government's medicine).

Journalists traveling with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the North American leaders summit will still need visas to enter Mexico, but they will no longer need to show up in person and be fingerprinted to get one.

— James Fitz-Morris

The Liberal party lost a key parliamentary strategist over the weekend.

Jerry Yanover passed away suddenly in his Ottawa apartment.

Something of an institution on Parliament Hill, Yanover began his career there over 40 years ago as an aide to then Liberal House leader Donald MacDonald — in Pierre Trudeau's first government.

He quickly developed a reputation as an expert in the often arcane world of parliamentary procedure.

While perhaps not a widely-sought-after asset in the real world, it is talent that is indispensable to governments trying to navigate their way through the House of Commons.

Yanover reportedly tried to leave Ottawa in 1972. But after the Trudeau government was reduced to a minority that year, the brass convinced him to stay a little while longer.

Yanover officially retired in 2004, but fate kept him working.

When then prime ministeer Paul Martin was faced with the first Liberal minority government in more than two decades, Yanover was again convinced to hang around as an adviser.

He held that position — and his reputation as a parliamentary guru &38212; until the day he died.

In a statement today, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff praised Yanover as someone who served his country with dedication.

He also referenced a line MacLean's magazine used to describe Yanover in a 2005 article: "Yanover is to Liberalism what Yoda is to the Jedi Council: the most feared practitioner of an ancient craft. "

— James Fitz-Morris

Upset at the new Canadian travel requirements on its citizens, the Mexican government now wants Canadian journalists to know what it's like to go through the process of getting a visa.

Two weeks ago, the Canadian government announced it will require Mexican citizens to obtain visas before coming to Canada, a step Ottawa says is necessary to clamp down on a growing number of refugee claimants.

But Mexico says the visa requirement is unnecessary and will do nothing to resolve the refugee problem. It continues to lobby Ottawa to rescind the measure.

Stepping up the pressure, Mexico has just announced that Canadian journalists travelling with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the North American Leaders' Summit in Guadalajara on August 9 and 10 will require visas to enter the country.

It is also adding a little twist: countries that already require Canadians to obtain entry-visas normally allow the prime minister's office to make all the arrangements for the travelling press. But not this time.

The group of about 20 reporters and camera people were notified that they will have to fill out the appropriate forms as well as be photographed and fingerprinted at the Mexican Embassy in Ottawa before being giving a visa.

Mexican officials are also threatening to enforce similar requirements on Canadian officials and diplomats in October if the issue isn't resolved by then.

Mexico has admitted it has little desire in forcing Canadian tourists to get visas.

That's because about 1.3-million Canadians travel there each year — injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the Mexican economy.

— James Fitz-Morris

Rocco Rossi is a key part of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's team. And by that, I mean, he's the money man.

Rossi was chief executive officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario where he was known for bringing in the cash.

That's essentially what's he been tapped to do for the Liberal party too. Of course, his official title is Liberal party national director.

— Rosemary Barton

Now that he's back from Rome, Prime Minster Stephen Harper will be contacting the ethics commissioner to declare a pile of booty he raked in from Italian prime minister and G8 host Silvio Berlusconi at last week's summit.

The haul has already caused a minor firestorm in Italy, at least among the non-Berlusconi-owned media there, but the Italian PM has easily outrun bigger and more sensational scandals than this.

Most of the attention has settled on the made-to-measure Belstaff motorcycle jackets worth about $1,000 that each G8 leader received, complete with breast pocket insignia signed by Berlusconi himself. There are also reports of monogrammed bathrobes and towel sets as well as designer pyjamas.

The Prime Minister's Office will confirm the PM received a weighty and expensive-looking watch (a bit of a waste on Harper since he cannot wear any metal on his body, says press secretary Dmitri Soudas), a pair of cufflinks, apparently with diamond studs, and a large book of photographs of Italy.

The book doesn't sound so extravagant, until you learn the covers are made from Italian marble. In fact, the marble is so heavy that the PM's staff left the book behind for the embassy to crate and ship home rather than risk overloading the prime ministerial Airbus. If it's destined for a 24 Sussex Drive coffee table, care will have to be taken to prevent the book from crushing the thing and putting a hole through the floor.

The prime minister must declare any gifts valued at more than $200, which then become the property of Canada and are stored away in dusty warehouses, says the PMO. Alternatively, if the PM would like to keep any of the gifts he can simply buy them back at market value.

— Keith Boag

I heard it again this morning. On the shuttle bus to the G8 summit site, I overheard a PR woman for an NGO (non-governmental organisation) talk to a reporter about the success of the "stunt" her group had staged the day before.

The word has showed up in more deliberate and official ways, too. Earlier in the week, another NGO sent a press release to the media inviting us to a "stunt" in advance of the G8.

Until now, stunt was OUR word.

We in the media used it comfortably and, ok, smugly to dismiss staged events designed only to attract our attention. We employed it proudly — as a pejorative — to prove we could tell the difference between a publicity event and a real event (though sometimes it hardly made a difference to our coverage).

Stunt was our shorthand way of saying we could see through the contrivance, we were wise to the manipulation.

But, now that the word has been appropriated by the very people who contrive the stunts, it loses its impact as a pejorative.

Like the "news conference" and the "photo-op," the stunt has become such a legitimate communications tool that there's no longer any shame in the word. Another milestone here in L'Aquila.

— Keith Boag

It happened again ... Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept the leaders of the G8 and G5 (China, India, etc..) waiting.

They were all lined up for the family photo - but there was no sign of Harper. Some of them could be heard calling his name as they looked around for him.

He showed up after two minutes to much laughter.

Harper completely missed a similar event at a G20 meeting in April.

His aides say he missed that photo because he was being "briefed."

The BBC cited well-placed sources who said Harper was in the washroom.

No word yet on what waylaid him this time.

— James Fitz-Morris

A good way to keep an eye on at least some MPs during the summer break, while most are back in their ridings, is to log on to Twitter.

If you're into that kind of thing, be forewarned, most members of Parliament are not the twittering types.

As for those who are, most post awesomely eye-glazing tweets. Indeed, many tend simply to regurgitate either travel itineraries or headlines from news releases. It can make for a boring blend of partisan barbs and accounts from political pancake breakfasts.

That said, there are a few people I enjoy following on Twitter.

In the category of most amusing train-of-thought tweets, I urge you to check out Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh. The former minister from Vancouver South is a frequent tweeter.

My favourite recent posts include: "My day already has taken me to Van Police Dept, my physician and back to the riding office. No I was not arrested." And, "The tea in the office: Just has a different taste."

In addition to the requisite notes about town halls and other constituency business, Dosanjh talks about walking his dog, getting haircuts, reading the newspaper and taking naps.

He offers commentary on everything from Conservative policies and the recent death of Michael Jackson to the political situation in Iran and India. He comes across as a normal guy who isn't afraid to give an honest and accurate report of what he's up to.

The same can be said for James Moore, the Conservative MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam.

As the minister of Canadian heritage and official languages, Moore is obviously more constrained in his tweets.

Even so, he shares many of the same qualities as Dosanjh — thoughtful, human and funny.

On one of his regular cross-country flights, Moore wrote, "Not working on this flight. Entourage Season 5 marathon here I come! Have to love Ari Gold & Johnny Drama. Could use some laughs."

He's also proficient with shorthand, "Gr8 dinner with 20 sr. academics from economic, social sciences, arts + humanities faculties, and bus.leaders @ Stephen Toope's house."

Also, earlier this week, when news broke that former Conservative MP Dave Batters had died, Moore showed the kind of emotion we all feel but rarely see from public officials.

His first entry was simply a repeated "No," followed by, "Lump in throat. Heart hurts. I'm so sorry."

I have to admit there are few NDP or Bloc Quebecois MPs in my list. That is no accident. Few from either party post to Twitter and those who do don't show much of their personality.

An exception is Denise Savoie, the NDP MP for Victoria. A regular tweeter, Savoie recently reported a swimming lesson from Alex Baumann along with a photo of several NDP MPs in their bathing costumes with Swim Canada coach Pierre Lafontaine.

— Alison Crawford