The federal government has fixed Aug. 4, 2026 as the effective date on which the foreign agent registry will come into force. This means that registration obligations will begin on August 4, 2026.

Anton Boegman is Canada’s first Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner (Commissioner). Mr. Boegman will play a leadership role in administering and enforcing the FITAA, including managing and overseeing the foreign agent registry in Canada.

Mr. Boegman will serve a term of up to seven years and will report to the Minister of Public Safety.

We expect that Mr. Boegman’s office will release the registration form to the public on the Commissioner's website when it is operationalized on Aug. 4, 2026.

I. Recap: What is the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act?

In June 2024, Parliament passed the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA) as part of the Countering Foreign Interference Act (Bill C-70). FITAA creates reporting obligations for a public-facing foreign agent registry; a registry process that some members of the Five Eyes countries, like the United States of America, have had for decades, albeit with different legal requirements.

II. Who must register?

The FITAA triggers a registration requirement only if all three of the following conditions are met.

  1. There must be an arrangement.

  2. Under which a person undertakes to carry out, at the direction of or in association with, a foreign principal.

  3. And it must involve any one of the following activities in relation to a political or governmental process in Canada:

  1. Communications with a public office holder.

  2. Communicating, disseminating, or causing to be communicated or disseminated by any means, including social media, information that is related to the political or governmental process.

  3. Distributing money or items of value or providing a service or the use of a facility.

If you have an “arrangement” with a "foreign principal"—a foreign state, power, entity, or economic entity (such as a state-owned business, a business that is controlled in law or fact by a foreign state, or substantially owned by a foreign state)—and undertake activities related to Canadian political or governmental processes, you and/or your organization may need to register.

Notably, the definition of public office holder overlaps with the definition of the Lobbying Act.

Examples of public office holders include, but are not limited to:

  • Employees of a legislature

  • Employees of any government (municipal, federal or provincial)

  • A Minister of the Crown

  • A Ministerial staffer

  • A Deputy Minister

  • An Assistant Deputy Minister

  • Any officer or employee of the federal government including but not limited to a member of the RCMP, a member of the Senate or House of Commons, someone who is appointed by the Governor in Council (i.e. Cabinet) other than a judge, an officer or director, employee of a federal board, commission or tribunal, or a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Notably, the legislation applies to arrangements which are defined as “influence activities” in the Regulations in relation to political or governmental processes involving all levels of government, including federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous governments.

  • Any proceeding of a legislative body

  • The development of a legislative proposal

  • The development or amendment of any policy or program

  • The making of a decision by a public office holder or government body, including the awarding of a contract 

  • The holding of an election or referendum 

  • The nomination of a candidate or the development of an electoral platform by a political party 

For example, if you have secured an arrangement with a foreign economic entity that is owned by a state to pursue legislative reforms in a province on behalf of the entity in question, the registration requirement may be triggered.

As noted above, the legislation contemplates registration for “the making of a decision by a public office holder or government body, including the awarding of a contract.” This language is broad and could potentially capture a broad swath of decisions contemplated by public office holders. This could be as simple as preparing a social media campaign for a foreign company that is interested in securing a particular contract with the federal government. Care and caution must be exercised to assess and analyze each individual activity and whether the activity is caught by the definitions in the legislation, thus triggering registration for a particular arrangement.

To be clear, the three-part test must be applied on a case-by-case basis to determine whether registration is required for any particular activity.

Under FITAA, "persons" who must register include individuals, corporations, trusts, joint ventures, partnerships, funds, unincorporated associations or organizations, and other legal entities. Examples include:

  • PR or consulting firm: Hired by a foreign government to advocate for public policy changes with Canadian federal ministers

  • Communications agency: Retained by a foreign state-owned enterprise to run social media campaigns supporting specific legislation or the awarding of contracts

  • Non-profit organization: Funded by a foreign entity to host events for provincial politicians advocating for policy positions

  • Individual consultant: Engaged by a foreign government to distribute funding to Canadian community organizations to influence elections

III. Exemptions

There are very limited exemptions carved out in the FITAA and its regulations. To be clear, non-profit organizations, lawyers and law firms, academic institutions and NGOs are not exempt from the legislation.

There are very limited carve-outs for diplomats/consular staff, employees of foreign principals acting in their official capacity, or people specified in the regulations. Those carrying out their official role for the federal crown (e.g. a Crown corporation or Parliament) are also exempted from registration. However, not all federal institutions are exempted. There are also exemptions for provincial, territorial and municipal governments acting in their official capacity.

Specifically, FITAA currently provides narrow exemptions from registration, including:

  1. Foreign nationals with a valid diplomatic, consular, official, or special representative acceptance from Global Affairs Canada.

  2. Employees of foreign principals acting openly in their official capacity (e.g. Ministers of the Crown from foreign countries).

  3. Classes of persons or arrangements specified in the regulations.

If you think you might qualify for an exemption in relation to an arrangement, you should document your reasoning and the factual basis for it.

When in doubt, seek legal advice.

Clause (c) above suggests that further exemptions may be added to the regulations in the future.

Critically, it remains to be seen whether law firms and/or lawyers will be exempted classes of arrangements having regard for the strictures of solicitor-client privilege. 

IV. Registration requirements and timelines

Registrants will be required to submit information through an online portal, as set out below:

  • For individuals: Full name, date and place of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email, citizenship, employer, and occupation. 

  • For entities: Legal and operational names, addresses, contact person details, incorporation information (for corporations), registration number (for charities), website, and mandate.

  • About the foreign principal: Name, address, website, basis for meeting the definition, and representatives' contact information. 

  • About the arrangement: Start and end dates, compensation or benefits provided, the political or governmental process involved, types of influence activities, and the foreign principal's stated objective.

  • For communication with public officeholders: Names, titles, jurisdiction, means of communication, dates, and estimated number of communications.

  • For dissemination of information: Means used (social media, TV, radio, publications, etc.), platform names, usernames, dates, and frequency. 

  • For provision of benefits: Amounts, dates, number of recipients, and values of money/items/services distributed. 

Individuals or organizations with qualifying arrangements that pre-date August 4, 2026 must register within 60 days from August 4. This requires a quick turnaround time in terms of determining whether you as an individual or your organization must register.

For new arrangements, registration is required within 14 days of entering into the arrangement.

The legislation further calls for registrants to provide updates within 15 days after any month when their information changes, and to confirm the accuracy of that information every five months. The Commissioner will retain information for 20 years after the arrangement ends.

Pursuant to the regulations, the Commissioner may share registration information with other Commissioners (e.g. the office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections) as necessary to perform its duties. This means that if you or your organization are registered lobbyists, those registration records may be shared with the new Commissioner implementing the FITAA to determine whether compliance has been made out. To be clear, mere registration under the Lobbying Act does not equate to a registration requirement for the purpose of the FITAA.

V. Consequences of non-compliance

The Commissioner will have broad investigative powers, including the ability to summons witnesses, compel testimony, and require document production.

Violations of registration requirements (and the positive duty to update one’s information thereafter) carry administrative and quasi-criminal consequences, including administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) and related sentences. The AMPs range from $250 to $1,000,000.

There is no existing guidance on the range of penalties for the above violations, although they can be expected with future decisions from the Commissioner’s office, and any interpretive bulletins on the range of penalty, which we expect will follow in time.

Quasi-criminal sentencing ranges on charges proceeding by indictment include fines up to $5 million, periods of imprisonment for up to five years, or both. On summary conviction, penalties include fines up to $200,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both.

Key violations include failure to register or update information, knowingly providing false information, and obstructing the Commissioner.

The Commissioner will publish violations, names, and penalties, which creates additional reputational risk.

A diligence defence is available for all offences except for providing false information.

VI. Recommended next steps for organizational compliance

Organizations should consider the following steps in preparing for the FITAA coming into force:

  • Audit current relationships to identify arrangements with foreign principals that may trigger registration.

  • Implement a record-keeping system to capture all relevant communications, transactions, and activities.

  • Review existing contracts with foreign entities to assess obligations.

  • Designate a compliance lead to monitor developments and coordinate preparation.

  • Develop an internal compliance policy to ensure that your organization understands what compliance entails.

  • Consult with legal counsel if you are uncertain whether your activities require registration.

Looking ahead

The introduction of a foreign agent registry marks a major shift in how Canada regulates, studies, and understands foreign influence. The Office of the Commissioner will likely be deluged with information requests on the application or interpretation of the FITAA once enforcement begins. It is not too late for organizations and individuals to assess compliance requirements given the 60-day window to register existing arrangements and implement compliance controls. 

Our team is available to assess how the FITAA may apply to your organization. Please contact the authors or a member of our White Collar Defence & Investigations group