On Sunday, March 23, 2025, Governor General Mary Simon dissolved Parliament and set the stage for a snap election called by Prime Minister Mark Carney. The election will be held on Monday, April 28, the shortest campaign period allowed under the Canada Elections Act.

While the government continues to run its operations during an election, lobbying never stops. Considering the exceptional circumstances of this election, lobbyists may be even more engaged in lobbying activities than during a typical election period because of the tumultuous Canada-U.S. relations. As a result, lobbyists must be mindful of their compliance obligations when pursuing lobbying communications during an election.

Registration and reporting requirements during an election campaign

The Lobbying Act (the “Act”) and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct (2023) (the “Code”) are the foundation of the federal lobbying regime.

Communicating with public officer holders (directly written or spoken) or indirectly (through appeals to the public through grassroots lobbying efforts) about a regulated matter for payment (whether as an employee “in-house lobbyist” or a “consultant” lobbyist) regarding the following matters is within the scope of the federal Lobbying Act:

  1. The development of any legislative proposal by the Government of Canada or by a member of the Senate or the House of Commons
  2. The introduction of any Bill or resolution in either House of Parliament or the passage, defeat or amendment of any Bill or resolution that is before either House of Parliament
  3. The making or amendment of any regulation
  4. The development or amendment of any policy or program of the Government of Canada
  5. The awarding of any grant, contribution, or other financial benefit by or on behalf of His Majesty in right of Canada
  6. The awarding of any contract by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada (consultant lobbyist only)
  7. Arranging a meeting between a public office holder and any other person (consultant lobbyist only)

The Prime Minister, ministers and ministerial staff retain their status as public office holders during an election period. This means that lobbying communications with these officials will continue to trigger registration and/or reporting obligations. Regarding reporting obligations, a communication with the Prime Minister, a minister and ministerial staff on a registrable subject, must be disclosed in a monthly report not later than 15 days after the end of every month (April 15, May 15) if it is both oral and arranged, and initiated by the lobbyist.

Other members of Parliament and their staff cease to be public office holders once the writ is dropped. Therefore, communicating with them during the election period does not trigger the need to register or report communications. All other public office holders, like senior public servants, senators, and their staff, retain their status as public office holders.

Sense of obligation

The Code reformulates the conflict-of-interest rule (rule 6) of the 2015 Code. The focus is no longer on whether the lobbyist's conduct has put the public office holder in a real or apparent conflict of interest. Rather, the focus lies on whether the public officer holder could have a "sense of obligation" (rule 4 of the Code) towards the lobbyist, meaning a close bond—based on personal affection, on mutual trust or loyalty, or on professional, business, or financial interdependence—that extends beyond simply being acquainted.

Political work

A sense of obligation is a feeling by the public office holder that they are beholden to the lobbyist in some manner. The Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (“OCL”) is clear in its guidance that such a sense of obligation may arise when an individual completes partisan campaign work in service of a public office holder.

Under the Code, lobbyists are subject to “cooling off” periods if they engage in political work during an election period, meaning they will be prohibited from lobbying public office holders with whom they interacted during the campaign, for a defined period, depending on the nature of their work. Political work falls along a risk spectrum with some activities being higher risk than others, with higher risk activities creating a clearer “sense of obligation” and thus attracting for a longer “cooling off period.”

Leadership or senior political roles performed for an official or their political parties will now result in a 24-month cooling-off period. Examples include serving as a designated spokesperson, campaign manager, coordinating political research or data analysis, coordinating political messaging or advertising, organizing political fundraising.

Frequent and/or extensive interaction with an elected official will now result in a 12-month cooling-off period. Examples include canvassing, distributing, and disseminating campaign materials, performing political research and data analytics tasks, and engaging in fundraising. Frequent work is defined as work that is done either more than three times or a total of eight hours per week, and extensive work is defined as work that is done for around or more than 24 hours per week.

However, there is no cooling-off period for participating in the electoral process as a voter, such as donating funds or displaying a lawn sign. 

It would be prudent for lobbyists who engage in higher risk political activity to seek clarification from the OCL on the impact of their political work on future lobbying activities.

Gift giving rules

The Code generally prohibits lobbyists from offering gifts or hospitality—directly or indirectly—to any official that they lobby or expect to lobby, other than:

  1. A “low value” gift that is a token of appreciation or promotional item, or
  2. A “low value” hospitality for consumption during an in-person gathering.

This prohibition does not apply to gifts provided to candidates who are not public office holders, but it does continue to apply to MPs who are seeking re-election. There are no requirements to register gifts at the federal level.

“Low value” means any gift or hospitality worth $40 or less, up to an annual limit of $200 in 2023 dollars. The Commissioner has the authority to grant exemptions to the gift and hospitality rule, including considerations on cultural exceptions and discretionary exemptions assessed on a case-by-case basis. Lobbyists should exercise caution when providing gifts or hospitality to candidates, consider the nature of their relationship with a candidate, and whether that relationship would be subject to a prohibition on communications with public office holders.

Again, it would be prudent to seek the approval of the OCL before giving a gift or personal benefit that do not meet the criteria for exceptions to the gift giving prohibition.

Conclusion

Canadian countermeasures to U.S. tariffs remain in force and the reprieve on imports of Canadian goods that meet the CUSMA origin rules expire on April 2, when President Trump has threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners. It is expected that Prime Minister Carney, his ministers, and senior public officials will continue to actively engage with stakeholders on the current trade tensions with the U.S. and the pending economic uncertainties.  

While communicating with a public office holder may trigger registration or reporting requirements, political activities may create a sense of obligation or affect lobbyists’ future lobbying activities. Compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists Code of Professional (2023) must be considered in the context of ongoing communications with public office holders.

For guidance and advice on lobbying compliance and ethical obligations during the federal election campaign, please contact the authors. Our Government Affairs team has provided advice and have collectively dealt with all the facets of lobbying at the federal level. We are well-positioned to help you navigate the road ahead.