Long-delayed foreign influence registry coming in August

Abigail Bimman reports on the clashing narrative between the RCMP and CSIS over foreign interference in Canada from India.

OTTAWA — The long-delayed foreign influence registry, first proposed by former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet, is set to come into force early next month.

According to an Order in Council issued in late June, the foreign agent registry and a transparency commissioner are both set to start on Aug. 4.

“Canada takes allegations of foreign interference and transnational repression extremely seriously, and our priority remains the safety and security of Canadians,” wrote Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree in an email to CTV News.

“The official appointment of Anton Boegman as Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner on August 4, and the implementation of the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, mark important steps in our work to protect Canadians,” he added. “Our government remains firmly committed to safeguarding public safety, countering foreign interference in all its forms, and ensuring that any attempts to influence our democratic institutions on behalf of foreign interests are met with vigilance and accountability.”

There have long been calls for a foreign agent registry — an online searchable database of agents working for foreign governments — in Canada, hitting a fever pitch in late 2023 and throughout 2024 when the issue of foreign interference saw heightened attention.

In September 2023, Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” that agents of the Indian government were involved in the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied the accusations.

A 2025 report from Justice Marie-José 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,” with India being the “second most active.”

Plans to implement a registry were included in 2024 legislation as part of the Countering Foreign Interference Act, but the federal government never followed through.

Shortly before the Act received Royal Assent in June of 2024, the House of Commons rose for the summer break. When MPs returned to Ottawa the following September, they spent weeks caught up in procedural wrangling that essentially had them at a standstill legislatively.

Trudeau then resigned in January 2025 and was replaced by Prime Minister Mark Carney, who had yet to implement the registry, and who has faced criticism for moving to reset relations with both China and India.

Most of the other Five Eyes allies, namely Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., have similar registries.