Who made the fake donation pledges to Jean Charest’s Conservative leadership campaign?

OTTAWA—The federal Conservative party said Thursday its membership list wasn’t compromised in an incident involving fake financial pledges made to Jean Charest’s leadership campaign.

The Charest campaign discovered multiple pledges all linked to an IP address originating in Ukraine after a long-time Conservative party member raised concerns.

Strategist Melanie Paradis said she received an email from Charest’s campaign thanking her for pledging $120, which made no sense because she hadn’t committed the money, and is staying neutral in the race.

Upon raising the issue with the Charest campaign, she learned that an old postal code of hers was on the pledge form, leading Paradis to suspect an old party membership list was used to sign her up as a potential donor without her knowledge.

The current source of the information is unclear.

In a statement Thursday, the party said it is taking the matter seriously.

“We appreciate the co-operation of all campaigns as we investigate any possible misuse of party data,” executive director Wayne Benson said.

“In this specific case, we will be referring particulars to the appropriate authority.”

The party is still trying to figure out which authority — police or the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

The Charest campaign has called the issue an “obvious attempt to create chaos.”

Campaign officials have notified affected individuals whose names and email addresses were found in connection with the IP address and continue to investigate.

So far, 12 people are putting together bids to run for the leadership of the Conservative party.

The campaign team of one of those candidates, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, said there have been no similar issues with its database.

The deadline to pay the $300,000 fee, as well as meet the other requirements needed to enter the race, is April 29.

In this contest, leadership candidates will receive the party’s membership list, as well as historical lists, after they’ve paid half the fee and submitted 500 signatures in support of their nomination.

The data is a treasure trove for campaigns, because it allows them to contact current and past party members in a bid to get their votes.

But candidates must also agree in writing that the data is “confidential and the exclusive property of the Conservative Party of Canada.”

Candidates found in violation of the party’s rules can be found.