Ottawa

Meanwhile, at the Canadian Liver Foundation

What happens when your fundraiser is featured in an attack ad

The Canadian Liver Foundation can’t be entirely sure how many of the donations they received Monday and Tuesday were related to the inclusion of Justin Trudeau’s striptease in Conservative attack ads—yesterday, Mr. Trudeau made donating to the foundation  part of the official Liberal response—the CLF says they have noticed an increase in web traffic and online donations. This was the word from Melanie Kearns, vice president of marketing and communications, on Tuesday afternoon.

On any given day, Canadians donate to the Canadian Liver Foundation via phone, online or mail for various reasons and those reasons are not always disclosed. While some individuals have specifically stated that they are donating on behalf of Mr. Trudeau, others have mentioned other reasons or not provided a reason at all. At this point, we would estimate that the amount generated as a result of all the media coverage has more than tripled the amount raised by Mr. Trudeau’s auction item at our fundraising event. Since we do not want to under or over-estimate the funds raised however, I cannot provide you with a definitive amount.

This situation has helped provoke a great deal of conversation about our cause and the need for support for liver disease research and education which we hope will benefit all Canadians with liver disease.

That auction for lunch with Mr. Trudeau raised $1,900.

So the Conservatives get to question Mr. Trudeau’s credibility, Mr. Trudeau gets to claim the high road and the Canadian Liver Foundation raises some money. For once, everyone wins.

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