FOREIGN INFLUENCE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACTForeign Influence Transparency and Accountability RegulationsP.C.2026-64220266
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Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, makes the annexed Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Regulations under sections 22 and 27 of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Acta.S.C. 2024, c. 16, s. 113InterpretationDefinitionsThe following definitions apply in these Regulations.Act means the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act. (Loi)influence activities means the activities referred to in the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act. (activités d’influence)registry means the registry established by the Commissioner under section 8 of the Act. (registre)Public office holderFor the purpose of the definition public office holder in section 2 of the Act, individuals who are included in any of the following classes and who are not already public office holders by virtue of paragraphs (a) and (b) of that definition are public office holders:officers or employees of a division or branch of the federal public administration referred to in column I of Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act, of a departmental corporation referred to in Schedule II to that Act or of a Crown corporation as defined in subsection 83(1) of that Act;officers or employees of His Majesty in right of a province or of the government of a territory, including officers or employees of any provincial or territorial board, commission, office or tribunal and any individual, other than a judge of a provincial or territorial court, who is appointed to an office or body by or with the approval of the lieutenant governor in council or a minister of a province or territory;officers or employees of a corporation that is wholly owned directly by His Majesty in right of a province or the government of a territory;officers or employees of a municipal board or commission; andtrustees, officers or employees of a school board.Provision of InformationExcluded arrangementsFor the purpose of paragraph 6(2)(b) of the Act, section 5 of the Act does not apply to an arrangement to which any of the following is a party:the Senate, the House of Commons or the Library of Parliament;an office or committee of Parliament, the Senate or the House of Commons or an officer of Parliament, the Senate or the House of Commons who is acting in that capacity;a division or branch of the federal public administration referred to in column I of Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act;a departmental corporation referred to in Schedule II to the Financial Administration Act;a Crown corporation as defined in subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act;His Majesty in right of a province or the government of a territory;the legislature of a province or territory;the legislative library or research service of a province or territory, an office or committee of the legislature of a province or territory or an officer of such a legislature who is acting in that capacity;a division or branch of the public administration of a province or territory, including a provincial or territorial board, commission or agency;a corporation that is wholly owned directly by His Majesty in right of a province or the government of a territory;a municipality or any division or branch of the public administration of a municipality, including a municipal board, commission or agency; ora municipal council, an office or committee of a municipal council or an officer of a municipal council who is acting in that capacity.Entry into arrangementFor the purpose of subsection 5(1) of the Act, the information with which a person who enters into an arrangement with a foreign principal must provide the Commissioner isif the person is an individual,their full name and any alternate names,their date and place of birth,their primary civic address and their mailing address, telephone number and email address, andthe full name and date and place of birth of any other individual who has carried out or is expected to carry out influence activities under the arrangement on their behalf and a description of those influence activities;if the person is not an individual,their legal name and any other names under which they operate,their primary civic address,the full name, date and place of birth, mailing address, telephone number and email address of a person who is authorized to make representations on their behalf for the purposes of the Act,any number that identifies them, such as an incorporation number, business number or charity registration number, and the jurisdiction that issued that number,in the case of a subsidiary, the name and primary civic address of its parent entity and the information referred to in subparagraph (iv) in respect of the parent entity,their website address, if any, which may include a social media web page if that is their main Internet presence,a description of the nature of their regular activities, including the products or services they provide or the activities they carry out, andthe full name and date and place of birth of every individual who has carried out or is expected to carry out influence activities under the arrangement and a description of those influence activities;in respect of the foreign principal,their name,their primary civic address, if any,their website address, if any, which may include a social media web page if that is their main Internet presence, andthe full name, position title, telephone number and email address of their primary representative with whom the person has communicated or expects to communicate in relation to the arrangement; anda description of the arrangement, includingits start and end dates,any compensation or other benefit that has been or is to be provided to the person by the foreign principal in relation to the arrangement,the political or governmental process to which the arrangement relates,the types of influence activities that the person has undertaken to carry out under the arrangement,in the case of influence activities described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the target of those influence activities, for example, public office holders, groups of Canadians or persons in Canada or private or not-for-profit organizations in Canada,the details set out in subsections (2) to (4), as applicable, in respect of the influence activities that the person has undertaken to carry out under the arrangement, andthe foreign principal’s stated objective under the arrangement.Details — communication with public office holderIn the case of influence activities described in paragraph (a) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the details that are to be provided in respect of those activities areif the person has communicated or expects to communicate under the arrangement with no more than five public office holders, the following information in respect of each of them:their full name,their position title, andthe name and jurisdiction of the entity of which they are an employee, officer, member or appointee and the name of their organizational unit, if any; andin any other case, the classes — as set out in section 2 of these Regulations or in the definition public office holder in section 2 of the Act — of the public office holders with whom the person has communicated or expects to communicate under the arrangement.Details — communication and dissemination of informationIn the case of influence activities described in paragraph (b) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the details that are to be provided in respect of those activities arethe means by which the information relating to the political or governmental process has been or is to be communicated or disseminated, such as social media, television, radio, audio or visual recordings, emails, text messages, telephone calls, electronic or print publications, including newspapers and newsletters, and virtual or in person events or meetings;if the means referred to in paragraph (a) include social media content or advertising,the names of all social media platforms that have been or are to be used,all usernames or other identifiers that are associated with the accounts that have been or are to be used on each of those platforms, andthe name and URL of any forums, groups, threads, communities or channels that have been or are to be managed on each of those platforms by the holder of an account referred to in subparagraph (ii);if the means referred to in paragraph (a) include television or radio programming or advertising, the names of the networks or stations on which the programs or advertisements have been or are to be broadcast;if the means referred to in paragraph (a) include recorded audio or visual content or advertising, the titles of the recordings, if any, and the names of the platforms through which they have been or are to be made available;if the means referred to in paragraph (a) include content or advertising in electronic or print publications, the names of those publications; andif the influence activities target public office holders, the classes — as set out in section 2 of these Regulations or in the definition public office holder in section 2 of the Act — of those public office holders or, if no more than five public office holders are targeted, the following information in respect of each of them:their full name,their position title, andthe name and jurisdiction of the entity of which they are an employee, officer, member or appointee and the name of their organizational unit, if any.Details — provision of benefitIn the case of influence activities described in paragraph (c) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the details that are to be provided in respect of those activities areif the influence activities include distributing money,the estimated maximum value in Canadian dollars of any single distribution of money, andthe estimated total value in Canadian dollars of all money that has been or is expected to be distributed;if the influence activities include distributing items of value,a description of the items that have been or are expected to be distributed,the estimated maximum value in Canadian dollars of any single item that has been or is expected to be distributed, andthe estimated total value in Canadian dollars of all items that have been or are expected to be distributed;if the influence activities include providing services,a description of the services that have been or are expected to be provided,the estimated maximum value in Canadian dollars of any single service that has been or is expected to be provided, andthe estimated total value in Canadian dollars of all services that have been or are expected to be provided;if the influence activities include providing the use of a facility, for each facility, the purposes for which it has been or is expected to be used, such as hosting an event, conducting business or providing accommodations; andif the influence activities target public office holders, the classes — as set out in section 2 of these Regulations or in the definition public office holder in section 2 of the Act — of those public office holders or, if no more than five public officer holders are targeted, the following information in respect of each of them:their full name,their position title, andthe name and jurisdiction of the entity of which they are an employee, officer, member or appointee and the name of their organizational unit, if any.ExceptionThe details referred to in subparagraphs (1)(a)(iv), (b)(viii) and (d)(vi) are not required in respect of influence activities that are carried out before the day on which these Regulations come into force.UpdatesFor the purpose of subsection 5(2) of the Act, the person must provide the Commissioner with an update setting out any change to the information referred to in section 4 no later than 14 days after the change occurs.RegistryContentsThe registry must contain the information provided under section 5 of the Act that is included in the following classes, other than information for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect that it is false or misleading or that making it public would present a threat to an individual’s personal safety:in respect of each individual who has entered into an arrangement, the information referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(a)(i) and the country and province, state or other political subdivision of their primary civic address referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(a)(iii);in respect of every other person who has entered into an arrangement,the information referred to in subparagraphs 4(1)(b)(i), (vi) and (vii),the country and province, state or other political subdivision of their primary civic address referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(b)(ii), andas applicable, the information referred to in subparagraphs 4(1)(b)(iv) and (v), other than the parent entity’s primary civic address;in respect of each individual referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(a)(iv) or (b)(viii), their full name and a description of the influence activities they have carried out or are expected to carry out;in respect of each foreign principal with which a person has entered into an arrangement, the information referred to in subparagraphs 4(1)(c)(i) and (iii), the country and province, state or other political subdivision of their primary civic address referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(c)(ii) and the full name and position title of their primary representative referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(c)(iv); andin respect of each arrangement, the information referred to in subparagraphs 4(1)(d)(i) to (v) and (vii), other than the amount of any compensation referred to in subparagraph 4(1)(d)(ii) and,if the arrangement involves influence activities described in paragraph (a) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the information referred to in subsection 4(2),if the arrangement involves influence activities described in paragraph (b) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the information referred to in subsection 4(3), andif the arrangement involves influence activities described in paragraph (c) of the definition arrangement in section 2 of the Act, the information referred to in subsection 4(4).Retention of informationThe Commissioner must retain the information contained in the registry for 20 years after the day on which the arrangement to which it relates ends.Disclosure of InformationDisclosure to the CommissionerThe following entities are authorized to disclose information to the Commissioner and any other individual referred to in subsection 11(1) of the Act for the purpose of assisting the Commissioner in the performance of their duties and functions under the Act:the government institutions set out in the schedule to the Privacy Act;the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner;the office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections; andthe Canadian Armed Forces.Disclosure by the CommissionerFor the purpose of paragraph 15(e) of the Act, the Commissioner and any person acting on their behalf or under their direction may, if they are satisfied that the disclosure will not affect any person’s privacy interest more than is reasonably necessary in the circumstances, disclose information that comes to their knowledge in the performance of their duties and functions under the Act toa government institution set out in the schedule to the Privacy Act, the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, the Canadian Armed Forces or any provincial, territorial or municipal body responsible for elections, lobbying or conflict of interest matters, if the disclosure is, in the opinion of the Commissioner, necessary to obtain from that institution other information that may assist in the performance of the Commissioner’s duties and functions under the Act; anda Government of Canada institution set out in column 1 of Schedule 3 to the Security of Canada Information Disclosure Act, if the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure may assist that institution in identifying the existence of an activity that undermines the security of Canada, as defined in subsection 2(1) of that Act.Administrative Monetary PenaltiesPenaltiesThe range of administrative monetary penalties that may be imposed in respect of a violation is from $250 to $1,000,000.FactorsThe Commissioner must take into account the following factors in relation to the imposition of an administrative monetary penalty on a person who has committed a violation, including when determining the amount of the penalty to which the person is liable:the person’s history of compliance with the Act;the impact of the violation, including the severity of actual or potential harm to the transparency of foreign influence activities;whether the violation was intentional or inadvertent;any actual or potential benefit to the person arising from the violation;the person’s capacity to pay; andthe person’s responsiveness to and cooperation with the Commissioner.Compliance agreementThe Commissioner may, in a notice of violation issued to a person or following representations made by the person to the Commissioner with respect to the violation or penalty, offer to enter into a compliance agreement with the person, whereby a lesser specified penalty, or no penalty, will be imposed if the person satisfies the requirements of the compliance agreement within the time specified in the agreement.Non-satisfactionThe compliance agreement must specify the amount of the penalty that will be imposed if the person does not satisfy the requirements of the agreement, which amount must not exceed the amount set out in the notice of violation.ServiceA notice of violation issued under subsection 19(1) of the Act or a notice of a decision made under subsection 20(2) or (3) of the Act may be in paper or electronic form and must be served using the most recent contact information provided to the Commissioner under section 5 of the Act or, if no contact information has been provided under that section, contact information that the Commissioner has obtained from a reliable source.PresumptionThe notice is presumed to be served 10 days after the day on which it is sent using the contact information referred to in subsection (1).Debt due to His MajestyAn administrative monetary penalty that has been imposed on a person constitutes a debt due to His Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in the Federal Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction.Delegation of powers, duties and functionsAn individual referred to in subsection 11(1) of the Act may exercise any of the Commissioner’s powers or perform any of their duties and functions under sections 19 to 21 of the Act in respect of which they have been designated — as an individual or as a member of a class of individuals — in writing by the Commissioner.Coming into ForceS.C. 2024, c. 16, s. 113These Regulations come into force on the day on which section 5 of the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act, as enacted by section 113 of the Countering Foreign Interference Act, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.