The public inquiry into foreign interference replaced rumour with a record.

Across six volumes, Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue described a threat that is methodical and layered. Foreign interference in Canada is aimed less at ballot boxes than at the conditions that make elections meaningful: Confidence, participation, and the integrity of the information citizens use to make political choices.

OPINION: Time to act to prevent foreign interference in Canadian elections Back to video

The question is no longer whether Canada has a problem. It is whether governments and institutions will enforce what is already on the books, follow through on the low-friction fixes the commission set out, and tackle the harder structural gaps that still leave Canada exposed. Volume 5 is blunt: Many measures can and should be implemented quickly, with progress reported to Parliament within a year. Others require deeper redesign but build on structures the commission calls “well thought-out, sound and efficient.”

What to know about Bill C-70

Parliament passed the Countering Foreign Interference Act (Bill C-70) in 2024, creating the Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Act and a public foreign influence registry run by an independent commissioner. The premise is straightforward: Those who undertake political or governmental activities in Canada under the direction, control or influence of a foreign state or related entity must disclose that relationship through registration. The law creates narrow exemptions and a mix of administrative penalties and criminal offences to deal with false declarations and serious violations. On paper, this is the centrepiece of a modern transparency regime.

In January 2026, draft regulations finally appeared in the Canada Gazette and a 30-day consultation opened. Those regulations spell out basic definitions, what information must be filed, how the registry will function, and how penalties will work. They are about mechanics: Who has to register, what they must disclose, and how non-compliance will be sanctioned. They say much less about how Canadians can complain or seek redress if they suspect covert foreign influence. A first commissioner has now been proposed. Even so, as of early 2026, the regime is still not fully operational.

The........

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