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The Canadian government’s foreign influence registry will come into force in early August, bringing into being a long-promised, long-delayed tool for tracking the activities of agents of foreign states.

An order-in-council recently issued by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet reveals for the first time that the government has fixed Aug. 4 as the date. People and entities working on behalf of foreign states in Canada would have 60 days from then to register any existing arrangements.

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The registry, an attempt to curb undue foreign influence, requires those working on behalf of foreign governments or entities to influence domestic politics to report their behaviour or face fines of up to $1-million. This includes work to influence federal, provincial, territorial and municipal politics.

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Under its rules, anyone “who enters into an arrangement with a foreign principal” to influence government policies, legislation, elections, contracts or referendums must file notice with the federal registry within 14 days.

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The Trudeau government tabled the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry legislation amid fallout from media attention to Chinese foreign interference in Canadian domestic politics. That reporting led to a public inquiry, headed by then-justice Marie-Josée Hogue. She is now the Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

In her first inquiry report in May, 2024, she issued a call for the government to vigorously enact measures to tackle what she called a “malign” threat to Canadian democracy.

She described foreign interference as a “stain on our electoral process” that discourages diaspora communities from participating in Canadian democracy.

Ms. Hogue identified China as the “most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada.” She also cited India, saying intelligence revealed a “Government of India proxy agent” may have attempted to clandestinely funnel money to candidates in 2021.

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