Update at bottom…

This is huge:

OTTAWA — For the first time in years, the federal Liberals are giving the Tories a run for their money when it comes to fundraising.

During the second quarter of 2009, Liberals pulled in $3.878 million – a whisker short of the $3.957 million raked in by the cash-hoovering Conservatives.

Overall this year, Liberals have amassed $5.7 million in donations, more than triple their take during same period last year.

The Conservatives have pulled in $8.3 million so far, down slightly from 2008.

I’m curious to see where the parties are at on the number of donors, since if this has come mostly from maxing out the big fish early, it will be harder to sustain these kind of numbers throughout the year.

But this is still excellent news.

UPDATE: Pundits Guide has the breakdown by donation size. Even though the Liberals and Tories were close in total donations, the Tories had 81% more donors than the Liberals, who relied mostly on large donations.