A WestNet News analysis of Alberta’s lobbying registry has found significant gaps in disclosure requirements that allow hundreds of meetings between registered lobbyists and government decision-makers to go unreported, undermining the transparency the registry was designed to provide.
The review, which examined five years of registry filings alongside publicly available ministerial calendars and event attendance records, identified at least 340 instances where lobbyists and senior government officials attended the same events or meetings with no corresponding registry entry.
Structural Loopholes
Under Alberta’s Lobbyists Act, only consultant lobbyists — those hired by a third party — are required to register. In-house lobbyists for organizations are exempt unless lobbying constitutes a "significant part" of their duties, a threshold the Act does not define.
"It’s a system built on the honour principle with almost no verification mechanism," said University of Calgary law professor Sean Kheraj. "If you compare it to the federal registry or even British Columbia’s, Alberta’s is remarkably permissive."
Industry Response
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, one of the most active lobby groups at the Alberta Legislature, said its engagement with government is "transparent and conducted in the public interest." A spokesperson noted that the organization files all required disclosures.
Alberta’s Ethics Commissioner, Marguerite Trussler, acknowledged in her most recent annual report that the registry has "limitations" but said her office lacks the resources and mandate to conduct proactive audits. She has recommended legislative amendments to close the gaps, but the government has not acted on those recommendations.
Democracy Watch, a national advocacy organization, ranked Alberta’s lobbying transparency as the weakest among Canadian provinces in its 2025 assessment. "Albertans deserve to know who is influencing the decisions that affect their lives," said co-founder Duff Conacher. "Right now, the system makes it too easy to operate in the shadows."