"We knew this in advance and this is a short-term phenomenon," Lavigne told me. "We are on pace to pay off our debt -- a small debt fro the election and we are healthy enough to run an election campaign at any given moment."

The numbers looked soft, Lavigne said, because the federal party stayed on the sidelines for most of the quarter in some of its most important regions of the country.

In the first quarter of this year, 69,451 Canadians contributed a total of $7.1 million to a federal political party. Both those numbers were down significantly compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, a quarter which saw political tension in Ottawa raised to new heights as a Stephane Dion-led coalition threatened to unseat Stephen Harper's Conservatives. Still, when compared to the first three months of 2008, overall political financial activity was off but by much less. Year-over-year contributions fell by 0.6 per cent and the overall number of contributors fell by about five per cent. But there were some substantial changes so far as individual parties go . . .

Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch just announced that Sheryl King will succeed David Wolf as the Toronto-based head of Canada Econimics and Investment Strategy. Wolf left Merrill last month to take a position as a senior advisor at the Bank of Canada.

One of Canada's biggest banks added its voice to a growing chorus calling on the federal government to change the country's employment insurance system [PDF].

Economists at TD Bank said Thursday Ottawa ought to make it easier for newly unemployed workers to receive benefits and should reverse changes it made to the formula that sets the premiums to be paid by employees and employers.