Canada’s latest annual review offers a valuable international case study in how registration rules and public reporting interact.
The reporting year in numbers
The Commissioner’s 2025–26 annual report records 39,879 communication reports for the fiscal year and 10,200 lobbyists named at least once during that year. It also identifies 4,259 organisations and corporations in registrations.
The communication figures cover activity between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, filed by 1 May 2026. People, organisations and communication reports are different statistical units.
Of the lobbyists named during the year, 8,310 were in-house and 1,890 were consultants. In-house lobbyists therefore represented approximately 81.5% of the annual named total, by IGAPA’s calculation.
A significant change during the period
From 19 January 2026, the in-house registration threshold was lowered to eight hours collectively over four consecutive weeks. The annual report says this change did not affect the registration requirement for consultant lobbyists.
IGAPA perspective
When interpreting registry growth, an analyst should investigate whether a rule change brought additional activity into the public record. A larger register may reflect greater visibility as well as changes in professional activity.
An organisation planning international advocacy can use this case to review how it records work across a team. A shared activity log, a named reviewer and a regular check of the applicable rules provide a clearer basis for registration decisions.
For comparisons with Europe or the United States, start with the reporting period and the unit counted. A Canadian communication report should not be treated as interchangeable with an EU registrant or a U.S. expenditure disclosure.
This briefing concerns the completed 2025–26 fiscal year. It does not present a full-calendar-year total for 2026.
Primary source: Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada — Annual Report 2025–26
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