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The 2015 federal election will require political parties to work harder than ever to capture the attention of the electorate. This story is part of Adam Radwanskis new assignment looking at how the party machines across the country are preparing.

Federal Liberals and New Democrats are bracing to be heavily outspent on the ground by the governing Conservatives in this years election.

All three leading parties can be expected to spend their national limit of more than $20-million during the official campaign period scheduled for next fall, and the Liberals recent fundraising success should allow them to join though not match the Conservatives in national prewrit advertising. But officials with both opposition parties are privately worrying that many of their riding associations will suffer a cash disadvantage both leading up to the campaign and during it.

Its a huge issue, a Liberal official said, speaking on a background basis. We spent a fair amount of last year internally sounding the alarm bells on this.

Although the 2011 election demonstrated that riding resources do not always have a strong impact on results as the NDP virtually swept Quebec despite minimal organization there all parties expect closer on-the-ground battles this time. Members of their campaign teams commonly express the view that candidates ability to spend close to their limit which ranges from about $90,000 to $120,000, depending on the number of voters could provide decisive advantages where there are margins of victory under 10 per cent.

Among those potential advantages are the ability to pay for voter contact, including through phone banks or paid canvassers, and communications. While the in and out controversy following the last election will require parties to step carefully, rules around regional advertising are likely ambiguous enough to allow several local campaigns to pool together funds for city-wide ads; candidates who arent in close races, but have ample cash reserves, could also help allies by purchasing ads that will be seen both by their own voters and by those in neighbouring ridings.

The scale of the Conservatives current advantage is difficult to gauge, because riding associations 2014 financial returns will not be available until later this year. But a Globe and Mail review of the previous years returns found that, as of the end of 2013, Conservative riding associations cumulatively had more than $15-million in net assets, while the Liberals had under $8-million and the NDP less than $4-million.

As of the last filings, the Conservatives were continuing to widen the gap, topping the Liberals by nearly $1-million and the New Democrats by more than $2-million in local fundraising in 2013. And there appears a good chance they continued to pad their advantage in 2014, with a senior Conservative source expressing confidence the governing partys riding assets now top $20-million.

That could give the Conservatives an equal or greater advantage to the one they had in the 2011 election, when their candidates cumulatively spent just under $20-million, Liberals spent less than $15-million and New Democrats about $7-million.

At the end of 2013, the Conservatives had 54 riding associations with more than $100,000 in net assets, next to eight for the Liberals and just one for the NDP. The Conservatives have some associations with much more money than they could spend during the campaign, which they are permitted to transfer to other ridings. (Among the richest is Employment Minister Jason Kenneys in Calgary, which at the end of 2013 had over $360,000.)

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Tories set to take early fundraising lead for federal election

The Ontario government is looking for a new human rights watchdog.

Former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall, chief commissioner for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, is retiring at the end of next month.

Hall, 68, who was appointed to the $167,000-a-year post by former premier Dalton McGuinty in 2005, has had her term extended four times.

Her contract expires Feb. 27 and a new chief is expected to be named before then.

From 1994 to 1997, Hall was the last mayor of the old city of Toronto and twice ran for the mayoralty of the amalgamated megacity, losing in 1997 to Mel Lastman and in 2003 to David Miller.

Sources say several prominent candidates are being considered for the job.

One person being touted is Bernie Farber, former chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a long-time anti-racism activist.

Farber who ran for the Liberals in the 2011 provincial election, losing Thornhill to Progressive Conservative Peter Shurman has worked with at-risk youth, battered women, and served on numerous community race-relations and safety committees over the years.

Another potential candidate is former New Democrat MPP Rosario Marchese.

Marchese, who lost the riding of Trinity-Spadina to Liberal Han Dong in the June 12 provincial election, was minister of culture and communications in former premier Bob Raes government and served at Queens Park for 24 years.

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Liberals shopping for new human rights commissioner as Barbara Hall retires

Theres no evidence a spurned Liberal candidate in the Feb. 5 Sudbury byelection was wrongly offered a post by Premier Kathleen Wynne or party officials to quietly step aside, Ontario Provincial Police say.

We have conducted an investigation and we concluded no criminal offence took place, Sgt. Peter Leon said Monday. We are no longer investigating this matter.

Opposition parties had complained to police and Elections Ontario, seeking a probe after Andrew Olivier, Wynnes candidate in last Junes provincial election, accused the party of dangling a job or appointment in contravention of anti-bribery laws.

That was before Wynne revealed her party had courted Sudbury New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault and convinced him to defect, leaving his seat in Ottawa for a shot at Queens Park.

Despite the OPPs decision, NDP candidate Suzanne Shawbonquit who won her partys nomination in a first-ballot victory over three challengers on Sunday said Wynnes controversial move to appoint Thibeault over Olivier, who is a quadriplegic, will still hurt the Liberals in the campaign.

Southern Ontario, in terms of the Liberal government, cant come in and tell the citizens of Sudbury who the candidate is going to be, she said in a telephone interview.

Wynne and the Liberals denied offering any enticements to Olivier to step aside, saying they wanted him to work for the party in the campaign to win back the riding, which had been held for almost 20 years by veteran Liberal MPP and cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci.

Olivier has said he will run as an independent in the byelection, which was prompted by the resignation of New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino for unspecified family reasons in late November after just five months on the job.

NDP House leader Gilles Bisson, who has branded Thibeault a turncoat, said the party is waiting to hear from Elections Ontario now that the OPP has closed its case.

What hasnt changed is that Mr. Olivier felt he was being bullied and bribed into not running for the Liberal nomination to make room for a candidate hand-picked in Toronto, Bisson said in a statement.

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OPP clears Liberals of misconduct in lead-up to Sudbury byelection

TORONTO - Ontario Provincial Police have determined the provincial Liberals did not commit a criminal offence in spurning a potential Sudbury, Ont., byelection candidate.

Andrew Olivier, the party's candidate in last June's general election, says he was asked by Premier Kathleen Wynne to step aside because she had another candidate in mind, which she later revealed to be NDP MP Glenn Thibeault.

Olivier says Liberal officials asked him not to seek the nomination and suggested a job or appointment could be arranged accusations the Liberals have denied.

The Progressive Conservatives wrote to the OPP, asking them to investigate because they believed the alleged actions could contravene sections of the Criminal Code that relate to offering government advantages and securing appointments.

OPP spokesman Sgt. Peter Leon says the anti-rackets division reviewed the information and conducted interviews with the people involved and have concluded no criminal offence was committed.

The Sudbury byelection is set for Feb. 5 to replace New Democrat Joe Cimino, who surprised supporters by resigning for personal reasons after just five months on the job.

Thibeault will face off as the Liberal candidate against Olivier, who is running as an independent, Suzanne Shawbonquit, nominated over the weekend for the NDP, and Progressive Conservative candidate Paula Peroni.

The NDP has also asked Elections Ontario to investigate Olivier's allegations, pointing to the Election Act, which makes it an offence to promise a job or appointment to induce a person to withdraw their candidacy.

"I'm confident that Elections Ontario will look into it and when they do they will come down on the (Liberals) and say, 'You're not allowed to do that,'" New Democrat Gilles Bisson said in an interview.

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Sudbury Byelection 2015: Liberals Did Not Commit Crime, OPP Says

Ontario Provincial Police have determined the provincial Liberals did not commit a criminal offence in spurning a potential Sudbury, Ont., byelection candidate.

Andrew Olivier, the party's candidate in last June's general election, says he was asked by Premier Kathleen Wynne to step aside because she had another candidate in mind, which she later revealed to be NDP MP Glenn Thibeault.

Olivier says Liberal officials asked him not to seek the nomination and suggested a job or appointment could be arranged accusations the Liberals have denied.

The Progressive Conservatives wrote to the OPP, asking them to investigate because they believed the alleged actions could contravene sections of the Criminal Code that relate to offering government advantages and securing appointments.

OPP spokesman Sgt. Peter Leon says the anti-rackets division reviewed the information and conducted interviews with the people involved and have concluded no criminal offence was committed.

The Sudbury byelection is set for Feb. 5 to replace New Democrat Joe Cimino, who surprised supporters by resigning for personal reasons after just five months on the job.

Thibeault will face off as the Liberal candidate against Olivier, who is running as an independent, Suzanne Shawbonquit, nominated over the weekend for the NDP, and Progressive Conservative candidate Paula Peroni.

The NDP has also asked Elections Ontario to investigate Olivier's allegations, pointing to the Election Act, which makes it an offence to promise a job or appointment to induce a person to withdraw their candidacy.

"I'm confident that Elections Ontario will look into it and when they do they will come down on the (Liberals) and say, 'You're not allowed to do that,"' New Democrat Gilles Bisson said in an interview.

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Ontario Liberals did not commit criminal offence: OPP