Canada's Foreign Agent Registry Is Here: Are You Compliance Ready?

The Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act¹ and accompanying Regulations² will come into force on August 4, 2026, establishing Canada’s long awaited foreign agent registry.

The regime requires registration on a publicly searchable registry of businesses, organizations and individuals who enter arrangements with foreign principals to communicate with public office holders, to disseminate information by any means in Canada (including through social media), or who distribute money, items or services, in relation to Canadian political or governmental processes.

While the registry is aimed at combatting foreign influence in Canadian politics and government, its compliance net is much wider.³ The registration requirements are likely to capture ordinary commercial dealings well beyond explicit work for other countries.

Companies, organizations and individuals (including consultants, advisers and other third parties) operating in Canada will need to consider whether their relationships with foreign governments, state-owned enterprises, international organizations and other foreign-linked entities involve any activities connected to Canadian political or governmental processes.

Public office holders include virtually every elected official, public servant, and employee at every level of government in Canada (including officers and employees of municipal boards and school boards).

Who must register?

Registration is required by any business, organization, individual, or other entity that enters into an arrangement with a foreign principal to communicate with public office holders, to disseminate information by any means including social media, or to distribute money, items or services, in relation to a Canadian political or governmental process.⁴

An arrangement may be written or unwritten, formal or informal, and need not involve payment.   

Foreign principal is broadly defined, but generally includes any foreign state (recognized or not), a group of foreign states (for example, the United Nations) or a group trying to become one, along with:   

• Anything it controls, or substantially owns (for example, a state-owned enterprise), and
• Anyone acting at its direction, for its benefit, or in association with it.  

A political or governmental process is a federal, provincial, territorial, or municipal process⁵, and includes:   

• Any proceeding of a legislative body
• Development of a legislative proposal
• Development or amendment of any policy or program
• Decision-making by a public office holder or government body, including the awarding of a contract
• An election
• A referendum
• Nomination of a candidate
• Development of a political party’s election platform  

Public office holders include virtually every elected official, public servant, and employee at every level of government in Canada (including officers and employees of municipal boards and school boards).⁶

What must be disclosed?

The Act requires the disclosure of extensive information, including details about:

• The business, organization or individual that has entered into the arrangement with the foreign principal⁷
• The foreign principal⁸
• The arrangement’s start and end dates
• The political or government process at issue
• Compensation or other benefits provided to the registrant by the foreign principal
• The types of influence activities contemplated and the targets of certain activities

The information that must be filed with the Commissioner and published on the foreign agent registry varies depending on the specific type of activity that is being carried out as part of the arrangement.

• Communication with public office holders requires a registrant to identify:
  • Each office holder by name and title where communication is (or is expected to be) with five or fewer office holders.⁹
  • Only the class of public office holders (e.g. Members of Parliament or employees of a school board) where communication is (or is expected to be with) six or more office holders.
• Communicating or disseminating (by any means) information that is related to the political or governmental process requires disclosure of the means of dissemination (e.g., social media, radio, or in person meetings) and the specific medium used (e.g. the specific social media page or radio station). Any public office holders who are targeted must also be identified.¹⁰

• Distribution of money or items of value, or provision of a service or the use of a facility requires disclosure of the value of what is distributed or provided. Any public office holders targeted by the distribution or provision must also be identified.¹¹

Deadlines to register

Registration is required within 14 days of entering into a new arrangement.¹² The practical result is that registration is required regardless of whether any communication with public office holders ultimately occurs. As in the case of Canadian federal lobbying law, one may be convicted for mere failure to register without ever making a communication.¹³

An arrangement already in place on August 4 must be registered by October 3.¹⁴

Continuous disclosure obligations

Information provided to the Commissioner must be updated within 14 days of any change.¹⁵

Significant penalties and enforcement powers

The Act gives a new Commissioner¹⁶ significant investigative and enforcement powers, including the same powers as a court to interview, to compel testimony, and to require the production of documents.¹⁷

Each of failing to make a required filing on the new foreign agent registry, providing false or misleading information, and obstructing the Commissioner, is an offence punishable upon criminal conviction by a maximum fine of C$5 million, up to five years’ imprisonment, or both.¹⁸

As an alternative to criminal prosecution, the regime allows the Commissioner to impose an administrative monetary penalty of up to C$1 million.¹⁹ The administrative enforcement process will be a summary procedure that lacks many protections available to defendants at trial. Robust, proactive compliance is the best way to avoid costly investigation and enforcement.  

The Commissioner is required to publish the details of a violation found under the Act, the name of the person who committed it, and the amount of the penalty.²⁰

The regime’s recognition of a due diligence defence for certain offences means that businesses and organizations will benefit from the protection of a well-structured and documented compliance process.²¹

Limited exemptions

Certain arrangements are exempt from registration, but the exemptions are largely confined to arrangements involving Canadian public-sector bodies acting in their official capacities. Certain accredited foreign representatives (e.g., diplomats) and employees of a foreign principal acting openly in their official capacities are also exempt from registration.

Notably, there are no sector-specific exemptions for ordinary commercial activity, universities, charities, non-profit entities and media organizations.

Lobbyist registration not sufficient

A corporation or organization whose employees, directors or members are already registered as lobbyists under the federal Lobbying Act or provincial, territorial or municipal lobbying laws is not exempt from compliance with its registration obligations under the new foreign agent registry.

Prepare now for compliance

Early inventory of a company’s or organization’s existing arrangements with foreign entities is essential to determine whether registration is required within 60 days after the Act comes into force. Businesses and organizations should also develop policies and procedures to assess and structure future engagements, to reduce uncertainty and to ensure that all required disclosure is accurate, complete and defensible.

An organization that may qualify as a foreign principal, such as a state-owned enterprise or public institution, that is not itself required to register, should still consider whether it has arrangements with representatives who may be required to register. Even where the legal filing obligation falls on the representative, a failure to register could create reputational and commercial risk to the foreign principal. Build processes and plans on guidance from legal experts with demonstrated experience in Canadian political law compliance, regulatory disclosure, and transparency legislation. 

Footnotes

^{1 1 S.C. 2024, c. 16, s. 113 FITAA.}

^{2 Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Regulations, SOR/2026-152 Regulations.}

^{3 The proposal for a Canadian foreign influence registry dates back to 2021 when the idea was first proposed by Member of Parliament Kenny Chiu through a private member’s bill (Bill C-282) that did not proceed beyond first reading. Amid mounting concern about foreign interference, including alleged foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal general elections (including against Mr. Chiu who was defeated in his British Columbia electoral district), the Government of Canada launched public consultations in March 2023 and established the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in September 2023. On May 6, 2024, the Government subsequently introduced Bill C-70, Part 4 of which was FITAA. Bill C-70 was enacted June 20, 2024 It id d th t P t 4 (FITAA) ld i t f d t fi db 2024. It provided that Part 4 (FITAA) would come into force on a date fixed by executive order.}

^{4 FITAA, subs. 5(1).}

^{5 The Act also applies to a council, government or other entity that is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, or any other entity that represents the interests of First Nations, the Inuit or the Métis. However, this portion of the Act will not come into force on August 4, 2026, and its effective date has yet to be fixed. Accordingly, arrangements with foreign principals concerning these entities will become subject to registration at a future date.}

^{6 Regulations, s. 2.}

^{7 The required information differs depending on whether the registrant is an individual or an entity. An individual must provide full name, any alternate name(s), date and place of birth, addresses, telephone number, and email address. An entity must provide its legal and operating names, primary address, identifying numbers and issuing jurisdictions, website, the nature of its regular activities and, where applicable, information concerning its parent entity, as well as detailed identifying and contact information for an authorized representative. In either case, the registrant must also identify every individual who has carried out, or is expected to carry out, influence activities under the arrangement and describe those activities.}

^{8 Required information includes the foreign principal’s name, primary address and website, if any, as well as the name, position title and contact information of the foreign principal’s primary representative in relation to the arrangement.}

^{9 This creates an unusual disclosure asymmetry: once an arrangement involves communication with more than five public office holders, the registrant may disclosure only the relevant classes of office holders rather than identifying each person individually. Arguably, the structure encourages broader rather than more targeted outreach: Regulations, subs. 4(2).}

^{10 As noted above, required disclosure is of each office holder by name and title where communication is (or is expected to be) with five or fewer office holders, and of only the class of public office holder where communication is (or expected to be) with six or more public office holders: Regulations, subs. 4(3).}

^{11 Regulations, subs. 4(4).}

^{12 FITAA, subs. 5(1).}

^{13 R. v. Skaling (2013); R. v. Carroll (2017).}

 ^{14 FITAA, ss. 33 and 34.}

^{15 ITAA, subs. 5(2); Regulatios, s. 5.}

 ^{16 Anton Boegman has been appointed as the Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner, effective August 4: Order in Council P.C. No. 2026-0668 Mr. Boegman was the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia from 2018 to 2025, and is well known for his active leadership in the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL), known for his active leadership in the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL), the pre-eminent organization of government ethics administrators in North America.}

^{17 FITAA, subss. 16 (1) and (2).}

^{18 FITAA, s. 25.}

^{19 FITAA, s. 18; Regulations, subs. 10(1).}

^{20 FITAA, subs. 21(1).}

^{21 FITAA subs. 23(2)}

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.