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Vancouver's civic parties should put a cap on election spending, says the group that received almost $1 million in donations from corporations during November's election.

Vision Vancouver chairperson Josh Coles says it's time for campaign finance reform.

“It's obviously ratcheting up,” Coles said outside City Hall yesterday, the deadline for candidates to file their financial disclosures. “… It certainly makes it difficult when you have to raise the kinds of money necessary to bring out the vote.”

Vision, which elected four candidates to council, raised more than $1.3 million and spent $1.55 million on the campaign. Much of its money came from developers as well as several smaller but substantive donations from the bar and restaurant industry. In total, corporations donated about $1 million.

Trade unions also liked Vision, forking over about $160,000. CUPE BC donated $72,000 collectively.

Senator Larry Campbell was nice enough to drop $520 on his old party, while Vision was also bolstered by a modest $300 donation from Zlotnik, Lamb and Company, the financial group co-founded by NPA park board commissioner Marty Zlotnik(who by the way raised an impressive $55,000 to sit on the board)'s dad, Harold.

The Non-Partisan Association and its candidates, which elected Mayor Sam Sullivan and five city councillors, appear to have spent a staggering $1.9 million on their victorious campaign.

Individually, NPA council candidates seem to have raised the most, with councillors B.C. Lee and Suzanne Anton leading the way: $89,000 and $72,000 respectively. They are the only major party, however, whose candidates stated individual donations in their disclosures - but each candidate was requried to hand over money to the party.

The left-wing Coalition of Progressive Electors, which lost all but one council seat, received and spent about $530,000, including $5,000 'loans' from its five council candidates. Trade unions handed over $360,000. COPE also spent a sizeable $174,000 on polling, far more than their competitors.

Not surprisingly, some benefactors double-dipped, donating large sums to both major parties.

For example, Great Canadian Casino dished out $30,750 to Vision, and also dropped about $20,000 on the NPA or its candidates. Usual suspects Concord Pacific were once again all over the map, donating almost $50,000 to Vision, while making significant individual contributions to NPA candidates.