(April 2025)

Canada’s federal Lobbying Act (sections 5 and 7) require registration by anyone paid as a consultant on contract by any entity to communicate with a public office holder in respect of their decisions concerning making, developing or amending of federal legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs; the awarding of federal grants, contributions or other financial benefits, and; for consultant lobbyists only, the awarding of a federal government contract and arranging meetings for others to lobby.  Lobbying that only involves appealing to the public to contact an office holder is also required to be registered and disclosed (clauses 5(2)(j) and 7(3)(k)).

The requirement to register and disclose lobbying activities applies unless the communication is in an open forum that is publicly recorded with the identities of all the participants and details of the discussions publicly disclosed, such as testimony before a parliamentary committee or a public consultation meeting.

The requirement to register as a lobbyist covers:

• anyone paid as an employee of any type of organization (except a Crown or Departmental corporation or shared governance organization) who spends a significant amount of their work time lobbying;
• any officer of any organization who spends any of their time lobbying;
• any director on the board of a business or organization who is paid more than their expenses and lobbies, and;
• the senior officer of any business or organization whose employees collectively lobby more than 20 percent of total work time (section 10.3, and subsections 2(1) “organization” and “public office holder”, and 4(2), 5(1), 5(6), 7(1) and 7(6)).

Given they are intergovernmental communications as opposed to lobbying as it is usually defined, the Act (subsection 4(1)) does not require registration or disclosure of communications by members of a provincial legislature, municipal council, Indian Act band council or indigenous people’s government or their staff, or by provincial, municipal, band council or indigenous government employees, or by diplomatic representatives of foreign governments or United Nations agencies or other international organizations recognized by Parliament.

The definition of “public office holder” in subsection 2(1) of the Lobbying Act is fairly comprehensive as it includes all federal MPs and senators, their staff, Cabinet ministers and their staff and appointees, and all government employees.  As well, the office of the Commissioner of Lobbying has concluded that the definition of public office holder includes employees of the caucus research bureaus for officially recognized parties in the House of Commons.  In effect, staff of these bureaus are working for a party as Parliament defines and recognizes parties (i.e. only parties with 12 or more MPs are recognized and received funding for a research bureau). 

However, the above rules in the federal Lobbying Act contain a “dirty dozen” loopholes that allow for secret lobbying.  None of the following significant lobbying activities to be registered and disclosed:

1. A person is only required to register as a lobbyist if they are paid for their lobbying, as mentioned above. This loophole allows a lobbyist to arrange with a client to be paid for strategic advice, while lobbying for their client for free, unregistered.  This loophole also allows retired executives of businesses, unions and other organizations, who may have extensive, good relations with government officials or other public office holders, and who may still be receiving a pension or other retirement benefits from their former employer, to lobby for their former employer without registering.
2. Lobbying by any person or entity of an enforcement agency concerning the enforcement of a law that applies to the person or entity is not required to be disclosed (under clause 4(2)(b) of the Act). This allows for secret lobbying by, for example, businesses concerning inspections, audits and other enforcement actions by regulatory agencies, which is a major area of business lobbying.
3. Lobbying for a tax credit is not required to be disclosed. Even though tax credits are a financial benefit, the Commissioner of Lobbying decided in 2009 to designate them as not a financial benefit and, as a result, another area of lobbying in which mostly businesses engage remains hidden from public view.
4. Lobbying for a federal government contract by the officers or employees of a business or organization does not have to be disclosed (only if the business or organization hires a consultant lobbyist on contract would the consultant be required to register and disclose the lobbying (clauses 5(1)(a)(vi) and 7(1)(a)).
5. Lobbying political party officials is not required to be disclosed because political party officials are not covered by the definition of “public office holder”. This is significant because these party officials are in regular contact with senior politicians and staff in each party, and so they can easily and regularly pass on communications they have received from lobbyists.
6. Only consultant lobbyists are required to register for time spent arranging meetings for others to lobby an office holder (clause 5(1)(b). This allows employees at businesses and other organizations to secretly arrange meetings with government officials (including officials they have worked with in the past) for others at the business or organization.
7. An employee who is lobbying for a business is not required to be listed in the Registry of Lobbyists if they lobby less than 20% of their work time (including time spent researching and preparing to lobby, but not time spent arranging meetings with office holders (clause 7(1)(b)). The business is required to register if the collective time spent lobbying by its employees adds up to 20 percent of work time if they were one individual – for example, if a business had five employees who lobby who each spend 4.1 percent of their work time lobbying, then 5 x 4.1 = 20.5% and the business would be required to register.  However, the only person required to be listed in the business’ registration would be the senior officer, as none of the five employees spend more than 20% of their work time lobbying.  As a result, the public cannot access key information concerning the extent and nature of the business’ lobbying.  In contrast, if employees’ citizen organizations like unions and non-profit advocacy groups collective lobbying time crosses the 20% threshold all the employees involved in lobbying are required to be identified in the organization’s registration (clause 7(3)(f)).  In other words, more full disclosure is required of the lobbying activities of often cash-strapped citizen groups than of the lobbying by the biggest, wealthiest businesses in Canada.
8. Not all lobbying communications are required to be disclosed in the Registry. Lobbyists are only required to disclose each month in the Registry their communications with “designated public office holders” that are oral, pre-arranged and (with one exception for communications concerning financial benefits) initiated by the lobbyist (under subsections 5(3) to 5(4.3), and 7(4) to 7(4.4) and Lobbyists Registration Regulations (SOR/2008-116), sections 6-7 and 9-10).  This means that almost all communications initiated by a public office holder do not have to be disclosed publicly (Lobbyists Registration Regulations (SOR/2008-116), sections 6 and 9).  As well, for a business, industry association, union or other type of organization, only the senior officer registers and is listed in those monthly communications registrations, even if the senior officer does not even participate in the communication (under subsections 7(4) to 7(4.4) of the Act, and Lobbyists Registration Regulations (SOR/2008-116), sections 9-10).
9. The amount of funding for lobbying that citizen groups have compared to the lobbying efforts of big businesses cannot be determined because, unlike the requirements that require disclosure of third-party (individual and interest group) spending on advertising and other activities in federal pre-election and election periods, lobbyists are not required to disclose the amount they spend, including on fees for consultant lobbyists, on lobbying for or against any specific change to government decision-making.
10. As well, consultant lobbyists are not required to disclosed how much they make in fees for any lobbying effort, and overall annually, and so the public cannot determine how valuable lobbyists are perceived to be by their clients, especially lobbyists who are former ministers, top government officials or their staff.
11. Finally, lobbyists are not required to disclose if they are fundraising or campaigning for politicians, political parties, nomination contestants, election candidates or party leadership contestants, or assisting them in other ways or doing favours that cause a conflict of interest and a sense of obligation to return the favour.
12. As a result of the above loopholes, politicians, their staff and top government officials can leave their job and start lobbying right away. The Lobbying Act contains a 5-year ban on being a registered lobbyist, not on lobbying, and no one is required to register as a lobbyist as long as they exploit the loopholes listed above.

The lobbying laws in provinces, territories and municipalities across Canada all have essentially the same or similar loopholes that allow for secret lobbying, although a couple of municipalities require lobbyists who are not paid to register and disclose some of their lobbying activities.

As long as these loopholes are left open, secret lobbying will continue to corrupt politics and government policy-making and contracting out processes across Canada.