Canada’s “more narrow” rules around foreign states’ covert influence could allow bad actors to continue exploiting regulatory gaps and interfere in domestic politics, warns a U.S. lawyer specializing in political and election laws.
Ottawa released regulations for the Foreign Interference Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA) in early January, part of the government’s response to allegations that the People’s Republic of China, India and other threat actors were meddling in Canada’s domestic affairs.
The legislation would create a public-facing registry of Canadian organizations and individuals who are acting on behalf of a foreign entity, including both states and companies. Appearing on the list does not imply wrongdoing — simply that a business or an individual is working on a foreign entity’s behalf.
Canada lagged behind allies in creating such a registry. The U.S. has had a similar law on the books since the Second World War, while Australia introduced one in 2018 and the U.K. in 2025. Ottawa has yet to publicly announce who will serve as the country’s first FITAA commissioner, despite creating the position in 2024.
Alexandra Langton, a Washington-based lawyer with Covington’s Election and Political Law Practice Group, said the Canadian law could miss some covert ways in which foreign states try to shape political opinion.
For instance, the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) can broadly address any activity that aims to alter policy or public opinion in the country, Langton said. The Canadian law “appears to be a little more narrow” in that it focuses exclusively on political or government processes, rather than broader public opinion.
“I think it has a lot to do with the origins of FARA, as this 1938 statute that was developed in response to Nazi propaganda in the United States, where there were these seemingly U.S. persons on corners handing out propaganda, promoting the Nazi government that seemed to be speaking with U.S. voices,” Langton said.
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“In the United States, we’re really concerned about addressing that and shining a spotlight on who the real speaker was there. That type of activity may not be covered by the more narrow set of influence activities addressed in the Canadian statute.”
Canada is working to put the foreign influence registry in place as Prime Minister Mark Carney and provincial premiers are seeking to improve relations with China and India, two countries whose intelligence agencies have tried to influence Canada’s democratic systems.
Carney is in the middle of a state visit to China — a country he has said represents the greatest threat to Canadian national security. On Thursday in Beijing, Carney heralded a “new era” of “strategic partnership” between Canada and China.
B.C. Premier David Eby, meanwhile, led a trade delegation to India this week to promote his province’s forestry and natural resources industries. Eby has been vocal about the threat that the Bishnoi Gang, an international crime syndicate operating in Canada, allegedly with the backing of New Delhi, represents to B.C.
Global News reported this week that internal RCMP documents suggest the Bishnoi Gang is “acting on the behalf of” the Indian government in Canada.
The FITAA was one of the federal government’s responses to growing concerns about covert foreign influence operations in Canada, including alleged schemes targeting both the Liberal and Conservative parties.
It requires individuals and organizations operating on behalf of foreign entities — including governments and companies — to publicly register with the federal government if they’re lobbying politicians, publishing information about “political or governmental processes,” or doling out cash to influence those processes.
Failing to register influence activities could result in monetary penalties of up to $1 million, five years in prison, or both. Langton, the D.C.-based lawyer, noted the proposed penalties are “significant” compared to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registry Act (FARA), which caps fines at $250,000.
Canadian officials estimated that approximately 1,550 businesses and 872 individuals in Canada would be required to register under the proposed rules.
Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University international relations professor and former Canadian intelligence analyst, said that it makes sense for Canada to “start off small” and update the regime as necessary.
“Canada has not done this before, and there’s going to be a significant learning curve,” Carvin said in an interview.
“I do believe there’s a risk in making the list of activities (covered under the legislation) too broad, and the system becoming overwhelmed immediately.”
Carvin added that, with an issue as complex as foreign interference in Canadian politics, no single legislative tool will address every aspect of the phenomenon.
“Even if we made this broad, you’re not going to capture the entirety of foreign influence activities in this country. Foreign interference is a very serious problem, it requires multiple different tools. I would like to see the Carney government do more in developing some of these other tools … before seeking to stabilize relations with China and India,” Carvin said.
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