The Investigative Journalism Foundation is introducing yet another database meant to help the public and reporters understand their governments and hold powerful people to account.
The IJF’s new West Coast Accountability database brings together information on political donations at the municipal level in both Vancouver and Victoria, as well as procurement data from the two cities.
"This database makes it easy, for the first time in Canadian history, for Vancouver and Victoria residents to see who is donating to their elected representatives and how their cities are spending millions in taxpayer money,” IJF CEO Zane Schwartz said.
“The West Coast Accountability project will strengthen democracy by helping people identify government waste and inefficiencies. I'm so happy it's out in the world today."
The database currently includes more than 46,000 municipal-level donations from Vancouver, upwards of 4,100 in Victoria and more than 1,000 city government tenders.
“With the launch of West Coast Accountability, the IJF's political donations database now includes data from Victoria and Vancouver, in addition to the B.C. and federal data that we already have,” the IJF’s director of technology, Daniel Nass, said.
“Users can investigate political giving across three levels of government, all in one place.”
That means engaged Vancouverites can track all the political contributions of influential local residents — for example, the Canucks-owning Aquilini family. Someone with an interest in mapping political connections could follow where provincial officials like Premier David Eby and B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon are directing their money during civic elections.
Voters might also look into government spending on things like the pricey plans to replace Victoria’s Crystal Pool and a “fan festival” for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Vancouver, or compile decades of government contracts with B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison’s business empire.
Jen St. Denis, a Vancouver reporter for The Tyee, said West Coast Accountability will make it easier and faster for local journalists to investigate tips and give voters insight on political power.
“Analyzing political donations can tell a story of who is hoping to influence government and why. In the past I’ve uncovered patterns such as wealthy business leaders using tactics like putting donations under their teenaged children’s names,” she said.
The new datasets will be regularly updated, and subscribers to the IJF can set up keyword alerts to receive notifications about new donations and procurement activity.