Program directory · Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada
Registration, education and compliance
- Program code
- BVA04 (ORL)
- Core responsibility
- Regulation of lobbying
- In Departmental Plans
- 2020-21 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
We maintain and continuously improve the Registry of Lobbyists – the searchable source of information about lobbying activities reported by registrants as required by the Lobbying Act. Through the online Registry, the public can learn about lobbying taking place at the federal level.
Awareness and understanding of the federal lobbying regime and compliance obligations are expanded by publishing educational material and providing information sessions. Lobbyists, registrants, federal officials and other stakeholders are offered ongoing support and advice – including on how to use the Registry and how to comply with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.
We enhance respect for federal lobbying requirements through our compliance work, such as verification processes so that registrants file information correctly and on time.
Concerns about non compliance are addressed and we investigate when the Commissioner believes it is necessary to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct; if the Commissioner discovers reasonable grounds to believe an offence has occurred, the matter is referred to the appropriate police authority. At the conclusion of an investigation, findings are reported to Parliament.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2020-21. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration, education and compliance | This program | 2020-21 – 2028-29 | $18.7M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Budget 2023 measure “Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada”: $0M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2023, PDF page 205 |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Percentage of registrants and lobbyists who are not subject to a compliance activity | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of lobbyists compliant with federal lobbying requirements. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Renamed from “Registry services and compliance” to “Registration, education and compliance”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 95% | 2024 | 98% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 95% | 2025 | 98% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | — | — | 93% The target for this indicator introduced on 1 April 1 2020 will be set in our 2022–23 departmental plan. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | — | — | 92% Target of 90% was set when preparing our 2022–23 departmental plan, following the examination and analysis of the 2020–21 actual results. | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 90% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 95% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | $3.7M | $3.6M |
| 2021-22 | $3.6M | $3.1M |
| 2022-23 | $4.1M | $3.7M |
| 2023-24 | $4.1M | $4.1M |
| 2024-25 | $4.4M | $4.2M |
| 2025-26 | $4.1M | — |
| 2026-27 | $4.1M | — |
| 2027-28 | $4.1M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $4.1M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 24 | 24 |
| 2021-22 | 24 | 21 |
| 2022-23 | 27 | 23 |
| 2023-24 | 26 | 23 |
| 2024-25 | 30 | 24 |
| 2025-26 | 27 | — |
| 2026-27 | 27 | — |
| 2027-28 | 27* | — |
| 2028-29 | 27* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 plan | $3,743,769 | $3,707,495 | $3,709,074 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $3,599,949 | $3,589,994 | $3,589,994 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $4,078,385 | $4,078,385 | $4,078,385 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $4,098,600 | $4,119,341 | $4,119,341 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $4,357,000 | $4,315,000 | $4,318,000 | ||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $4,081,000 | $4,085,000 | $4,085,000 | ||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $4,125,000 | $4,125,000 | $4,125,000 | ||||||
| Actual | $3,609,912 | $3,142,858 | $3,681,243 | $4,091,405 | $4,218,233 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
