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Over the weekend, Thomas Mulcair responded to the Glen McGregor’s look at his donation history.

Mulcair said prior to 2011 he contributed to his own riding association or election campaigns because it was the only way to ensure that the money would remain in Quebec and be used to build NDP support in that province.

“We’ve given thousands of dollars to the party since I was elected in 2007,” Mulcair said in an interview with iPolitics. “Prior to the breakthrough (in the May 2011 election), most of the money I would give was to the riding association for obvious reasons – we were cash poor in Quebec and whenever we did fundraising, it went to the federal party.”

Glen returns to the story with more details.

Annual financial reports filed with Elections Canada records show no sign Mulcair made contributions to the federal party in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Candidates who run for the NDP in elections are required to sign an agreement with the party acknowledging their responsibilities should they win a seat in the House of Commons…

In response to the Citizen story, Mulcair told the website iPolitics that he had given the maximum amount in 2011 — a $1,000 contribution in the fourth quarter and $199 earlier in the year. He said he expected to get a $99 refund to stay below the limit. The $1,000 contribution would have come after the party’s leadership race began, following the death of Layton in August. Mulcair was reported to be mulling a bid for the party’s top job in September.