OTTAWA — Budget season is a chatty time in the capital, with ministers and MPs entertaining proposals for shiny new projects and programs, while firms and industry associations pop into their offices and inboxes to press their cases.

Government-relations consultants and the organizations they represent reported 7,911 communications with federal officials in the first quarter, according to the lobbyist registry. With the Liberals positioning their late March budget as the foundational document for Canada’s new green industrial policy, the environment and economic development topped the topic list. 

Money for mega projects

In December, Volkswagen announced subsidiary PowerCo would build an electric-vehicle battery factory in Canada. Late last month, the federal government revealed the much-queried financial package that’s bringing the German automaker to St. Thomas, Ont.: $700 million from its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), plus between $8 billion and $13 billion in production subsidies.

In the lead-up to the big unveiling, Volkswagen was a repeat caller at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). Its lobbyists reported at least five communications with Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne across January and February. Deputy minister Simon Kennedy heard from the automaker on at least 10 occasions; Colette Kaminsky, the associate assistant deputy minister who oversees SIF, was part of four of those.

Ottawa-headquartered Telesat was another regular on ISED officials’ call sheets. The federal government has pledged $1.44 billion in equity and debt financing to help the firm build a low Earth orbit satellite network, and committed another $600 million to subsidize capacity for internet service providers. But Telesat has struggled to raise the funds needed to launch the project, and Ottawa’s cash is contingent on it doing so. 

In the first quarter, Telesat representatives logged 45 communications with federal officials, according to the registry. Éric Dagenais, senior assistant deputy minister for ISED’s spectrum and telecommunications sector, was on the receiving end 10 times. Telesat also communicated with Ian Foucher (five times), Leslie Church (twice) and Jason Easton (twice), chiefs of staff to Champagne, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng, respectively.

The promoters of other mega-projects also kept in touch with policymakers. Vancouver-based GCT Global Container Terminals reported 24 communications in the first quarter. The firm is registered to lobby on Transport Canada’s review of port authorities, as well as its own future plans. GCT is one of the two competing entities looking to expand container capacity in Delta, B.C. The other is its landlord, the Vancouver port authority, whose plan last month received the approval of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). GCT’s first-quarter lobbying took in Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, IAAC president Terence Hubbard, and area MPs Richard Cannings and Taleeb Noormohamed.

Climate considerations

With green dominating Ottawa’s colour wheel, staff at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) were in high demand. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a Winnipeg-based non-profit, communicated with department officials 13 times, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in January.

Interim co-CEO Martha Casey said the contacts have focused on “providing expert input on Canada’s oil and gas and renewable energy policies, critical minerals and mining policies, global climate finance and climate change mitigation commitments” as well as the reconstruction of Ukraine. The IISD is also pushing for Ottawa to re-up funding for the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development, which it helps administer. Casey noted that some of the organization’s lobbying reports reflect its role in the Green Budget Coalition, a consortium of environmental groups.

The Pathways Alliance, made up of six oil-sands giants, registered 29 communications. The group is planning a carbon-capture and -storage project in Alberta’s energy belt. Ottawa is fine-tuning a tax credit for such activities, and Pathways’s contacts included senior Finance Canada officials and staff in Freeland’s office. The alliance also lobbied ECCC deputy minister Chris Forbes, and reported six communications with Marc D’Iorio, assistant deputy minister for the department’s science and technology branch.

Elsewhere, Montreal-based Addenda Capital, an environmentally focused asset manager, scored a significant first contact, meeting with Church and officials in Finance Canada’s Financial Sector Policy Branch in February. The firm’s registration, dated the same day, suggests it’s interested in private investment in climate adaptation and resiliency infrastructure.

Industry associations assemble

Sectoral groups often bring long lists of members’ priorities when they lobby policymakers. The Canadian Labour Congress (137 communications), Business Council of Canada (50), Canadian Federation of Independent Business (47) and Canadian Canola Growers Association (39) were the most active in the first quarter; each is registered to lobby on a bevy of bills, regulations, programs and policies.

The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) was in touch with federal officials on 56 occasions during that period. Representatives communicated with Alghabra and Defence Minister Anita Anand twice each, and lobbied Champagne, Ng and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek. MPs from all four parties also heard from the AIAC. 

The association wants Ottawa to “develop a long-term national industrial strategy spanning civil aviation, defence and space,” CEO Mike Mueller said. It’s also calling for the government to exempt aircraft from a new luxury tax proposed in the 2021 federal budget, and to add more funding to a $250-million, three-year aerospace support program established at the same time. Mueller called this year’s budget “a missed opportunity” on those issues, but welcomed new money for the Canadian Space Agency and NATO.

Disappointment in the air

Ottawa wants to replace the Canadian Air Force’s three-decade-old fleet of multi-mission aircraft with newer models before 2030, when they’re set to be pulled from the skies. Several firms are touting their planes or parts, though their chances may be receding.

Dorval, Que.-headquartered Bombardier lobbied federal officials 32 times in the first quarter, including contacts with Anand (thrice) and Champagne (twice). Thomas Gagne, director of defence procurement, heard from the firm’s representatives on eight occasions. Bombardier spokesperson Arevig Afarian said the company continues to talk to officials abouts its Global 6500 aircraft, which she called the “right-sized solution” for the multi-mission program, citing its new engines, range and reliability. “We await an answer on when and how we can present a bid.”

General Dynamics Mission Systems, a division of the U.S. military-contracting giant, is also registered to lobby on the multi-mission aircraft; it declined to comment. 

While Ottawa hasn’t placed an order yet, it has seemingly anointed a particular plane. In March, the government said it had determined that Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon was “the only currently available aircraft” that met its requirements, and requested an offer to supply up to 16 of them. 

Elsewhere, Afarian said Bombardier’s representatives have advocated for amendments to the luxury tax. The firm has lost out on 19 domestic aircraft sales since it was implemented, she claimed, calling it a loss for the economy as well as the company.

Internet bills

As the Liberal government prepares to turn on the green and defence spending taps, it’s also advancing legislation to redirect some cash from tech firms. Bill C-11 would impose new Cancon funding and showcasing requirements on streaming platforms, while Bill C-18 would require social media sites and search engines to pay news publishers whose content is linked on their services. 

Firms likely to be captured by the new rules have pushed back. Google-owned YouTube said the broadcasting bill, as written, ropes in user-generated content, and would hurt Canadian creators. Its algorithms would downrank their content if domestic viewers—who would be shown it due to regulatory requirements—don’t like it, according to the company. And YouTube says Bill C-18 imposes a “payment for links” scheme that flouts international copyright law and “will incentivize cheap, clickbait content over quality journalism.”

Google reported 24 communications with federal officials in the first quarter, including one in March with Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez and his comms team. The same month, the company contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford, and in a separate meeting, Brian Clow, her globally focused deputy. 

But Google’s lobbying this year so far has focused mostly on parliamentarians considering the two bills. Its representatives have communicated with seven senators, including Alberta’s Paula Simons and Quebec’s Julie Miville-Dechêne, two former journalists who have sought to amend Bill C-11 and aren’t convinced by Bill C-18. Google has also logged four contacts with Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a member of the heritage committee who has frequently sparred with testifying Google executives. 

The two bills have also attracted the attention of newer entrants. In early March, two lobbyists from Crestview Strategy registered on behalf of Toronto-headquartered Rumble, a Nasdaq-traded video platform that hosts notable right-wing creators. The firm is seeking to communicate with officials about Bill C-11 and Bill C-18, as well as “broadcasting policy, including the governing of online content.” Rumble’s reps logged one communication in the first quarter, with Conservative heritage critic Rachael Thomas. Rumble did not respond to a request for comment.

New in town

Recent registrations include:

• Toronto-based Questrade, which plans to lobby on financial-institution and -technology policy, and push for open banking. The online brokerage is repped by Tanya Woods, head of government and regulatory affairs, who has previously worked at Bitcoin miner Hut 8 and launched the Canadian chapter of the crypto-focused Chamber of Digital Commerce.

• Viasat, a Carlsbad, Calif.-headquartered satellite-communications firm, which has retained a Dentons telecom regulatory lawyer to engage ISED and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. It’s also interested in programs that support the expansion of rural broadband.
• Rockville, Md.-based X-Energy wants federal funding to build and roll out its small modular reactor. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the firm US$80 million in October 2020.
• Calgary-based Azure Sustainable Fuels retained four lobbyists from the leading GR firm StrategyCorp to seek financing for its less carbon-intensive plane propellant.