Currently, only lobbyists working more than 28 hours a month are required to publically register with the commissioner of the Commissioner of Lobbying.
https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/guest
A lot of lobbying in Canada is undisclosed.
Let’s say you are a lobbyist for an AI company. The AI minister (yes, that’s a real thing) wants to introduce a bill that you really don’t like.
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You write a letter to the AI minister to invite him for dinner. (1hour)
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You spend one morning to prepare what you will talk about (3hours)
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His office calls you to change the date (15 minutes)
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You call back his office to confirm the date and location (15 minutes).
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You go to the restaurant wisth the minister (3 hours)
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He agrees to meet you one week later in his office to discuss changes to the bill (2 hours).
That’s less than 9 hours and 30 minutes. It’s below the 28 hours threshold so you don’t have to disclose anything.
On January 19, 2026, Canada will become a slightly less corrupt country.
The threshold below which no registration is required will change from 28 hours to 8 hours over a four-week period. More people will be required to register.
The system is still a disaster, but at least it’s an improvement.
In the US, the reason corporations hire lobbyists is that it has a ROI that is bigger than most of their main businesses.
And that return comes from tax revenue. So it is much more expensive for us to allow lobbyists.
That “expertise” angle used to make some sense, before we created long distance communication. But today, politicians have staff, and the staff have access to the internet and telephones. If they need an expert, they can just call one.
Again, it would be much cheaper to hire researchers for politicians than to allow lobbying to continue.
I see no reason why anyone who isn’t a constituent should have easy access to a politician.