The somewhat-delayed foreign influence registry, initially proposed by former prime minister Justin Trudeau & his cabinet, is set to come into force early next month.
According to an Order in Council issued in late June ’26, the foreign agent registry as well as a transparency commissioner are both set to commence on Tuesday, 4 August.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, in an email to CTV News, said that Canada takes allegations of foreign interference as well as transnational repression extremely seriously.
Anandasangaree added that the official appointment of Anton Boegman as Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner was on 4 August. This measure is in addition to the implementation of the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry. They mark important steps in Canada’s work in protecting its citizens. The government remains firmly committed to safeguarding public safety. Additionally, the government is focused on countering foreign interference in all its forms. This commitment also includes ensuring that any attempts to influence democratic institutions on behalf of foreign interests This commitment also entails maintaining vigilance and accountability in response to any attempts to influence democratic institutions on behalf of foreign interests. with both vigilance and accountability.
There has been the need expressed for a foreign agent registry. This registry is in the form of an online searchable database of agents working for foreign governments in Canada. The issue reached its peak in late 2023 and persisted throughout 2024. This was when the issue of foreign interference received heightened attention.
During September ’23, Trudeau said that there were ‘credible allegations’ that agents of the Indian government were involved in the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was involved in the Khalistan movement, although India denied the allegations.
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to carve a separate Sikh country in the majority Sikh state of Punjab; however, the majority of Sikhs in Punjab have not supported such a call.
A ’25 report from Justice Marie-Jose Hogue, commissioned by the public inquiry into foreign interference, concluded that China was the ‘most active perpetrator’ of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions’, followed by India being the ‘2nd most active.’
Plans to implement a registry The Countering Foreign Interference Act, enacted in ’24, included plans to implement a registry. The registry The 2024 legislation, part of the Countering Foreign Interference Act, included the registry. in the 2024 legislation as part of the Countering Foreign Interference Act. However, the federal government never followed through.
