Canada has a new Prime Minister, but the same old fossil fuel industry players are still frequenting the halls of parliament. Lobbyists for Enbridge Inc., The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, and Cenovus have been leading the push to influence the new government with the most lobby meetings in Q2 (April to June) of this year.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has had 25 meetings with fossil fuel industry lobbyists since he won the Liberal Party leadership race in March. Since winning the federal election at the end of April, his meetings with fossil fuel lobbyists have increased. In May he met with lobbyists from CAPP, Cenovus, ENMAX, Enbridge, Imperial Oil, MEG, Pathways Alliance, Shell, Suncor, and Tourmaline. And in June he met with each company again, in addition to meetings with FortisBC.
Tim Hodgson, the new Minister of Natural Resources, accepted 25 meetings with fossil fuel lobbyists in his first two months on the job – including meetings with Suncor, Tourmaline, Cenovus, Enmax, Enbridge, and Imperial Oil, BHP, MEG (a company which he was formerly on the board), Shell, Suncor, Ovintiv, as well as lobby groups like Pathways Alliance, the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, and CAPP. Minister Hodgson has had a long working relationship with Prime Minister Carney, and was elected as a member of parliament for the first time this year.
Other popular targets for Big Oil lobbying include Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has taken 11 meetings with lobbyists this year, and the new Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne who has taken 6 meetings this year. LeBlanc has held multiple high-powered cabinet positions, and is currently the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy.
We tallied how many times Big Oil lobbied the new federal government during its first three months in office: 159 meetings. That brings the total number of meetings with lobbyists so far in 2025 up to 355 – nearly 3 times per workday so far this year. That number is concerning, and remember this is just one tactic in the playbook they’ve been using for decades
It’s not just the frequency of lobby meetings but also who Big Oil is able to get meetings with in government. Presently, they’re being granted open access to the folks at the highest levels in government.
The federal ministries most targeted by oil and gas industry lobbyists so far in 2025 are:
- Natural Resources Canada: 134 meetings
- Finance Canada: 49 meetings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada: 37 meetings
Canada’s strength and its natural resources are more than oil and gas. We can’t let the polluting fossil fuel industry dominate face time with our federal government.
While Big Oil ramps up pressure on the newly elected government, we need to remind our political leaders that fighting climate change is imperative for our environmental and economic security. The federal government has made international commitments to reducing climate pollution and set climate targets here at home – now, this new government must show us how they plan to fulfill their climate commitments.
We must address the crises we face today by implementing solutions that make us more resilient, protect us from escalating climate disasters, and strengthen our economy now and into the future. We can’t let the government cave to Big Oil’s influence.
