Backgrounder – Five-year restriction on lobbying for former designated public office holders

July 16, 2025 – Ottawa, ON

Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger has issued a bulletin to describe the restrictions on lobbying that apply to former designated public office holders as established in subsection 10.11(1) of the Lobbying Act (Act) and, in particular, to set out the approach the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying takes to interpreting and applying the significant part of work threshold for former designated public office holders employed by corporations found in paragraph 10.11(1)(c) of the Act. 

The Commissioner of Lobbying is authorized to issue advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins about the interpretation, application or enforcement of the Act, pursuant to subsection 10(1) of the Act. 

Five-year restriction for former designated public office holders

During the five-period after they cease to perform their duties, former designated public office holders are prohibited from engaging in any consultant lobbying activities referred to in paragraph 5(1)(a) and (b) of the Act. 

If they are employed by an organization, such former designated public office holders are also prohibited from engaging in any in-house lobbying activities referred to in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act. 

For former designated public office holders employed by a corporation, paragraph 10.11(1)(c) of the Act permits them to engage in in-house lobbying activities during the five-year period after they cease to perform their duties, provided that such activities do not constitute a “significant part of the individual’s work” on behalf of their employer.

The Commissioner of Lobbying is adopting the same interpretation to determine whether a given former designated public office holder has exceeded the significant part of work threshold that she uses in determining whether the significant part of duties registration threshold in paragraph 7(1)(b) of the Act has been met. 

Statutory review of the Lobbying Act

Subsection 14.1(1) of the Act requires a parliamentary committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the Lobbying Act every five years. The last review took place in 2012 —thirteen years ago— and did not result in any amendments to the Act. No parliamentary review took place in either 2017 or 2022. 

This new interpretation bulletin is not intended to serve as a substitute for engaging in the statutory review process mandated by the Act or, more particularly, for eliminating the discrepancy in the restrictions on lobbying that apply to former designated public office holders as a function of the type of entity (organization or corporation) that employs them.

Former designated public office holders are encouraged to seek guidance from the Commissioner’s office to ensure compliance with the five-year restriction on lobbying before this new bulletin takes effect on January 19, 2026.