Canada's Commissioner of Lobbying has changed its interpretation of when lobbying constitutes a "significant part" of an employee's duties when determining if registering under the federal Lobbying Act is required. The new interpretation, which took effect in January 2026, reduces the threshold for mandatory registration with the Registry of Lobbyists.
What is Lobbying?
The federal Lobbying Act defines lobbying as any paid communication with federal public office holders regarding the development of legislation, regulations, policy, the awarding of federal grants, contributions or other financial benefits.
Provinces also maintain their own lobbyist registration regimes.
Contraventions of the Lobbying Act can result in significant penalties, including fines, imprisonment and a lobbying ban.
Changes in Registration Requirements
An organization must register under the Lobbying Act if its employees engage in lobbying activities with federal public office holders and those activities constitute a significant part of one employee's duties, whether the activities are performed by one employee or multiple employees.
Prior to the updated interpretation, the Commissioner considered a "significant part" of an employee's duties to be 20% or more of the employee's duties in any given month, or 32 hours.
The new interpretation lowers this threshold. Now, if an employee, or group of employees, spends a minimum of eight hours on lobbying activities within any consecutive 4-week period, those activities are considered a "significant part" of their duties, and the organization must register with the Registry of Lobbyists.
Qualifying Activities
Activities that count toward the eight-hour threshold include not only directly communicating with a public office holder, but also preparing, drafting, revising or sending written communications.
Unpaid or volunteer lobbyists are exempt from registration as well as private citizens requesting information. Any communication with public office holders about the awarding of a federal government contract is also exempt from counting towards the eight-hour threshold.
The most senior officer of a corporation involved in lobbying activities has two months from the date the eight-hour threshold is reached to file the corporation's registration with the Registry of Lobbyists.
Impact on Organizations
This eight-hour threshold that now defines whether lobbying activities form a "significant part" of one's duties means that lobbying obligations may be triggered faster by a range of employee activities.
Businesses and other organizations should not only track direct communications with federal public office holders, but also the time spent preparing for these written and oral communications.
Bennett Jones can assist corporations in identifying activities that may be captured under the new lobbying interpretation and whether they reach the eight-hour registration threshold, as well as completing registrations with the Registry of Lobbyists. For more information, please contact William S. Osler KC or Drew Broughton.
