The House Ethics Committee began a long overdue review of the federal Lobbying Act on Feb. 12. While it’s a chance to shake up Canada’s lobbying regime, which hasn’t been significantly updated in more than a decade, lobbyists are pushing back on some of the potential changes.
Meanwhile, a decision on the submarine procurement is expected this summer, with advocates for both bidders ramping up lobbying efforts with government officials.
Liberal MPs from Toronto as the last line of defence for the city and its residents on the potential expansion of the Billy Bishop Airport. Unfortunately, most of these MPs are ducking residents on the issue or sharing vague, scripted responses.
‘It’s a security concern for people like me who are in the public eye and who deal with angry constituents all the time,’ says Alberta Senator Paula Simons of an Elections Alberta data leak that exposed the personal details of nearly three million people.
On April 23, the House Ethics Committee held its third meeting as part of a review of the Lobbying Act, which regulates the lobbying of designated public office holders with the goal of ensuring transparency and accountability.
The investigation concluded ‘the true intent’ of Christiane Fox, then-deputy minister at the department, was to help Bjorn Charles ‘find new employment, and this occurred under her watch through the creation of a position in her department to fit [his] needs.’
A decision is expected by the end of June on which of two bidders—Hanwha Ocean of South Korea or TKMS of Germany—will supply submarines to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s existing Victoria-class submarines.
Fifteen MPs travelled on a total of 19 sponsored trips last year, totalling more than $78,000 in comped expenses. This marks the second year of decline for junkets since the post-pandemic peak in 2023 and subsequent rule changes.
Unifor has a ‘front line view’ of the consequences of the trade war with the U.S., which is thousands of jobs lost or ‘on hold’, according to Lana Payne, Unifor national president.
Bell is currently facing a $400-million lawsuit for its alleged failure to comply with what’s known as the ‘Notice and Notice system, ‘and other Canadian internet service providers worry they could soon be on the hook for similarly jarring sums.
Pascal Chan, vice-president of strategic policy and supply chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and an in-house lobbyist, said that a good lobbyist needs to be trusted, ‘period.’
Young politicos shifting into consulting could see fewer opportunities to build credibility because of AI, says Christian von Donat, a vice-president at Impact Public Affairs.
Lobbying under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government requires an increased focus on data, opinion data, economics, and return on investment, say lobbyists.
The absence of public rulings in lobbying investigations is ‘a recipe for corruption,’ says Duff Conacher. But the lobbying commissioner says the Lobbying Act and the Privacy Act require that all investigations be conducted in private.
The missing piece has been a policy and advocacy framework designed explicitly to help Canadian-owned firms scale into major contractors and system integrators.
On the federal lobbyists’ registry, groups that lobbied on the Ottawa-Alberta MOU include the CCLC, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada’s largest oilsands producers, including Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy.
Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, has faced delays since it was introduced in the House back in September.
‘The amounts of money that are being talked about here between now and 2035 are truly transformational,’ said Duncan Hills, a senior adviser on defence and security at NorthStar Public Affairs.
Democracy Watch’s Duff Conacher says the gaps in voter identification could allow for foreign interference in the NDP leadership race, but the party says it has ‘established safeguards’ in place to protect the vote.
Conservatives have concerns about a clause buried in Bill C-15 that grants cabinet ministers the power to exempt any individual or firm from nearly any federal law—excluding the Criminal Code—for up to six years.
The implications are profound. Thousands of businesses and non-profits that were not registered will now fall under the federal lobbying regime.
More than a third (33.9 per cent) of all federal advocacy in 2025 was about economic development, setting a new record in annual lobbying.
Ethical consistency is not a moral add-on to foreign policy, but a prerequisite for stability, credibility, and long-term economic outcomes.
Only British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon have reached pharmacare deals with the federal government, covering contraception and diabetes medications.
