Foreign influence commissioner expects registration to increase as awareness grows
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OTTAWA – Canada’s foreign influence transparency commissioner suggests it’s too early to tell whether people are complying with new obligations to report information to his office.
Commissioner Anton Boegman told MPs on a House of Commons committee Tuesday his office’s focus to date has been on contacting individuals and organizations who may have to register their activities.
People are required by law to provide information to Boegman’s office when they enter an arrangement with a foreign principal that involves activities intended to influence a Canadian political or governmental process.
They must register within 14 days of entering such an arrangement, and if the arrangement existed before Aug. 4 of this year and continued after, they had until last Saturday to file.
The influence registry was set out in legislation passed in 2024 as part of a package of measures to counter foreign interference.
Ottawa says the registry is needed because countries engaging in foreign interference to advance political goals might employ people to act on their behalf without disclosing those ties.
In a notice published early this year, the government said it expected about 1,767 registrants would submit information annually, with an additional 54 new registrants each year.
Only two registrations were listed as of early Tuesday on the commissioner’s website, though Boegman said his office received about 30 submissions to the registry over the weekend.
He said the submissions would be validated to make sure these registrations meet the requirements of the law before any new entries are added to the public site.
Conservative MPs on the committee pressed Boegman about the discrepancy between the modest number of early registrants and the anticipated volume of individuals and organizations.
“This is a brand new registry. The requirements are brand new,” Boegman told the committee.
“I expect that as individuals understand more about the registry, that the numbers … will increase.”
Under questioning from Conservative MP Michael Cooper, Boegman said his office was in the process of setting up an encrypted channel so people who might be the target of hostile foreign states can securely communicate with his staff.
“It is something that I am interested in getting in place as soon as possible,” Boegman said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2026.