(Democracy Watch: February 2026)
Under Canada’s federal Lobbying Act, only some lobbyists are required to register and disclose only some of their lobbying activities and communications with federal Cabinet ministers, government officials, politicians, political staff etc.
The Act contains a “dirty dozen” loopholes that allow for secret, unregistered lobbying. Click here to see the loopholes.
Only lobbyists who are required to register under the Act are required to comply with the ethical lobbying rules in the federal Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct (Lobbyists’ Code), and the Code also has huge loopholes in it that allow even registered lobbyists to essentially bribe politicians and public officials they are lobbying with favours and gifts.
The loopholes were added to the federal Lobbyists’ Code in July 2023 after a skewed and dishonest public consultation process by Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger, with the approval of MPs from all parties on the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee. In adding the loopholes, which essentially gut key ethics rules in the Code, Commissioner Bélanger ignored the fact that adding the loopholes was opposed by more than 20,000 voters, by 26 citizen groups with a total membership of 1.5 million Canadians, by 15 lawyers from 7 law firms (and also lawyers in private practice or other roles), and by 26 law, politics and ethics professors from 15 universities in 9 provinces (Click here to see details).
The following are the loopholes in the federal Lobbyists’ Code that allow for unethical lobbying and essentially legalize bribery of federal politicians:
1. A lobbyist is allowed to do secret favours for politicians they are lobbying or are allowed to lobby them soon after doing the favours
In the pre-July 2023 version of the Lobbyists’ Code, Rules 6 and 9 and a guideline by the Commissioner prohibited lobbying for 4 years (i.e. until after the next election) after a person did any significant campaigning or event organizing, or any fundraising, for a politician or party.
Under Rule 4.2 in the new Code, depending on the level of campaigning or fundraising a person does for a politician or party, lobbying is allowed at the same time, or right afterwards, or at most only 1-2 years later (only at most 1 year later no matter how much money a lobbyist raises).
Rule 4.2 also gives the Commissioner of Lobbying the power to secretly reduce those lobbying prohibition periods.
When proposing the new loophole, Commissioner of Lobbying Bélanger made the very questionable claim that the Code’s previous 4-year cooling-off period violates the Canadian Charter right to freedom of expression, based on one opinion that the Commissioner paid law firm Goldblatt Partners for in a sole-source contract that was extended twice, increasing from $11,300 to $45,200 and then up to $90,400.
In fact, several Supreme Court of Canada and other Canadian court rulings have clearly stated that Charter rights must be restricted to protect government integrity, and as a result it is clear that the previous 4-year cooling-off period complies with the Charter while the new shorter or non-existent cooling-off periods violate the Charter.
The Lobbyists’ Code should be changed to again prohibit, without any exemptions, anyone from lobbying any party leader and any MP, Senator or their staff in their party and any party official for at least 4 years after they have done significant campaigning, fundraising, event organizing or any other favour for the party leader or party, and to prohibit anyone from lobbying any individual MP, Senator or their staff after they have done significant campaigning, fundraising, event organizing or any other favour for the MP or Senator. If the Commissioner is allowed to continue to have the power to grant exemptions, the Commissioner must also be required to publish each exemption as soon as it is granted in an online, searchable, public registry.
2. Gifts and hospitality are allowed to be given by lobbyists to politicians and public officials they lobby
Under Rules 3.1 to 3.3 of the Lobbyists’ Code, lobbyists are allowed to give a gift or hospitality (i.e. a meal or event) worth up to $40 each time, and up to $200 over any 12-month period.
While those dollar amounts are not exorbitantly high, and can be afforded by most lobbying organizations, and while these rules are stronger than in past versions of the Code, the rules open up gift-giving and wining and dining as a means of influence, and the limits are difficult to enforce because lobbyist’s interactions with public officials can’t be monitored in any comprehensive, detailed way.
In addition, the Rules allow the Commissioner to secretly exempt lobbyists from the limits.
In addition, the Rules allow lobbyists to give gifts to political party officials (who can pass them on to politicians or political staff in their party), and the Rules also allow lobbyists to offer or give other benefits to politicians and public officials, such as a donation to their favourite charity, or a gift or benefit or job to a family member, or the promise of a job in the future after they leave their political or government position.
The Lobbyists’ Code should be changed to prohibit lobbyists, without any exemptions, from offering or giving, directly or indirectly, any gift or any other type of benefit or advantage to any politician, political staff, political party official or public official or to any member of their family. This clear prohibition not only closes loopholes in the current Code rules, it is also a better system because clinical studies by psychologists in many countries show that even small gifts influence decisions.
3. Lobbying for clients that have conflicting interests is allowed
In a past, pre-2015 version of the Lobbyists’ Code, lobbyists were prohibited from representing clients that had conflicting interests unless the clients consented. The current version of the Code allows lobbyists to representing clients with conflicting interests, which has led to some lobbying firms doing that. Click here to see details.
The Lobbyists’ Code should be changed to again prohibit, without any exemptions, anyone from lobbying for a client whose interests conflict with another client unless all the clients consent in writing.
4. Lobbyists are allowed to use secret information obtained from politicians and public officials
In the pre-July 2023 version of the Lobbyists’ Code, Rule 5 stated that “If a lobbyist obtains a government document they should not have, they shall neither use nor disclose it.” Rule 2.2 of the new Code says a lobbyist can use or share information obtained from a public official in confidence if the lobbyist has the official’s informed consent.
The Lobbyists’ Code should be changed to again prohibit, without any exemptions, lobbyists from using or sharing secret information they have obtained from any politician, political staff or public official.
Click here to see key changes needed to make lobbying law and lobbying code enforcement effective.
Join the call for key changes to stop secret, unethical lobbying across Canada at Democracy Watch’s Stop Secret, Unethical Lobbying Campaign
