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On July 16, 2025, Nancy Bélanger, the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada released updated guidance that significantly lowered the "significant part of duties" threshold for when corporations and organizations must register their in-house lobbying activities. Starting on January 19, 2026, corporations and organizations will be obliged to register federal lobbying activities and meet ongoing reporting requirements when one or more employees collectively spend eight hours on lobbying activities in any given consecutive four-week period.
A. What you need to know
Under paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Lobbying Act, corporations and organizations (profit or non-profit corporations, community groups, industry associations, etc.) are required to register their in-house lobbying activities when one or more employees of the organization or corporation communicate directly (written, spoken) or indirectly (appeals to the public) with public office holders on behalf of their employer about a regulated matter.
- Developing, introducing, passing, defeating, amending a legislative proposal, bill, resolution or regulation.
- Developing or amending a program or policy.
- Awarding of a grant, contribution or other financial benefit.
B. Exemptions
The following are some examples of corporate/organizational activities that are exempt from the requirement to register and should not be factored into a calculation of significant part of duties:
- Communications restricted to straightforward request for publicly available information.
- Preparation and presentation of briefings to parliamentary committees.
- Information regarding enforcement, interpretation or application of any existing federal law or regulation.
- Routine dealings with government inspectors or other regulatory authorities.
C. Previous vs. new threshold
Since 2009, the 20% threshold meant that lobbying was considered a "significant part of duties" when one or more employees spent roughly one day per week of their cumulative time lobbying per month (about 32 hours).
Under the new interpretation, the calculation remains cumulative across all employees of a corporation or organization but permits those employees to spend significantly less time lobbying before registration is required.
All time spent drafting letters or briefing notes, preparing information packages and internal work to ready communications, or meeting with public office holders, is aggregated across all employees within a consecutive four-week period. This includes grassroots campaigns, where planning and directing campaigns, deciding on messaging, and choosing techniques or tactics for the campaign count toward the threshold. Once the eight-hour threshold is reached within a four-week span, the most senior paid officer has two months to register with the Registry of Lobbyists. Notably, time spent travelling to meetings with public office holders is now excluded from the calculation.
The implications are profound. It is essential for companies and organizations to be mindful of this significant change to avoid a breach of this new lowered threshold. Failure to register can result in fines of up to $200,000, lobbying prohibitions, or even imprisonment. Beyond the legal risk, the reputational damage of non-compliance could be catastrophic.
D. The quantitative impact of the lowered registration threshold
The number of active registrations and lobbyists has consistently increased, with new monthly records being set in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The 2024-2025 Annual Report of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada confirms there were 3,702 organizations and corporations named in the registrations. A total of 8,884 individual lobbyists registered at least once during the fiscal year, including 7,214 in house lobbyists: 2,924 employed by corporations and 4,290 employed by organizations.
This activity was notably influenced by the April 2025 federal election and the transformational change taking place in critical policy areas to address trade disruptions and greater political and economic uncertainty. Effective government advocacy has never mattered more, and stakeholders want to be heard. The lowered registration threshold is projected to bring thousands of new businesses and non-profits under the federal lobbying regime that were previously exempt, further increasing registration numbers into 2026.
E. Lobbying restrictions for former designated public office holders
In a separate bulletin, the Commissioner has also clarified that the change to the registration threshold intersects with the five-year lobbying ban (cooling off period) for former "designated public office holders," as established under subsection 10.11(1) of the Act. For consultant lobbyists, the ban remains absolute: no paid communications with federal public office holders or arranging meetings on behalf of clients are permitted within five years of completing work as a designated public office holder.
The prohibition also remains absolute for those working as in-house lobbyists for organizations. Corporations face a nuanced challenge under ss 10(11) (1)(c) of the Act: former designated public office holders may engage in limited lobbying as employees of corporations, provided their activity does not constitute a "significant part of their duties" in keeping with the new eight-hours in four weeks interpretation. This creates a compliance minefield for hiring practices and role design.
F. Compliance implications
The two bulletins issued by the OCL have meaningful implications for corporations and organizations that are lobbying at the federal level, particularly with respect to how they manage compliance and monitor the activities of their employees.
It is important for entities large and small to understand, and comply with, their legal obligations under the Act. Any organization that was operating near the registration threshold under the 20% rule will have to choose whether to reduce their lobbying time significantly or simply register with the Registry of Lobbyists.
The lowered registration threshold underscores the need for newly registered entities to implement a precise and robust tracking of lobbying activities of all employees, including preparation time and grassroots campaigns, to monitor the rolling four-week total. Even registered entities must reassess internal protocols and staff training to ensure continued compliance with the reporting and threshold calculations. Corporations employing former designated public holders must tightly design and monitor roles to avoid crossing the threshold during the five-year cooling off period.
G. Further changes on the horizon
The Commissioner's move signals a renewed enforcement posture and a broader push for legislative reform. The House Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee (ETHI) is expected to study the effectiveness of the Lobbying Act in ensuring transparency and ethical conduct in lobbying activities when Parliament returns, reinforcing momentum toward potential legislative reform or further interpretive updates.
This provides the relevant companies and organizations, along with the public, with an opportunity to have their voices heard on the modernization of the Lobbying Act.
Read the original article on GowlingWLG.com
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