Winnipeg Conservatives throw support behind Bernier, while Brandon backs Leitch in leadership race

With less than 24 hours before the Conservative Party of Canada elects a new leader to replace Stephen Harper, there is no doubt which candidate has the majority support of Manitoba conservatives: Maxime Bernier.

The Conservative Party's 259,010 eligible voters will select their new leader from 13 candidates Saturday evening.

Last-minute mandatory campaign donation filings to Elections Canada published Friday afternoon showthat in Manitoba, Bernier has raised nearly $130,000 in donations close to triple the $51,968 raised in Manitoba by his nearest competitor, Brad Trost,over the course of the leadership contest.

In total, campaign donations from Manitoba amounted to just over $267,800. Nationally, the total amount reported is just over $7 million.

All of those amounts representdonations to the Conservative Party of Canada, which the donor directed to a specific leadership candidate. The actual amount transferred to the candidate is less, because the party skims off a percentage for its own coffers.

Support not uniform across regions

WhileBernier has dominated overall fundraising in Manitoba, especially across most Winnipeg neighbourhoods, other cities or towns sided firmly with other candidates.

In Brandon, for example, while the total sums donated were relatively modest ($8,125), Leitch proved to be the preferred candidate by the measure of financial donations.

In Winkler and neighbouring town Reinfeld, Brad Trost, the Saskatchewan candidate who has been outspoken about his socially conservative stance on issues such as gay marriage, is the unequivocal candidate of choice for donors. The communities have collectively contributed just under $32,000 to Trost, compared to Bernier's $1,400.

In total, 13 candidates are vying to take over the reins of the party. In-person voting will occur Saturday, but the party has confirmed that 130,000 ballots have already been cast and counted.