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77-657: The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) is a lobbying organization founded in 1959 which represents the Canadian wood products industry through a national federation of associations. This article about an organization in Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lobbying in Canada Throughout Canada's history, lobbying has evolved, influenced by different periods and factors. Post-Second World War, lobbying practices changed, with

154-567: A 2003 bill, but did not take force until 2005. In 2006, Stephen Harper ran on an accountability-centric platform, including a major overhaul to lobbying legislation. After election in a minority parliament , Prime Minister Paul Martin resigned, and the Governor General , Michaëlle Jean invited Harper to form government, where he introduced omnibus legislation, the Federal Accountability Act , which reformed

231-417: A board of directors, a president elected among the directors, and an executive director. The associations often had a multi-level structure by 1970, with many associations having provincial branches or caucuses. Swiss sociologist Robert Michels has characterized interest organizations as typically having an oligarchical structure, with a membership that is not highly engaged, and directors and staff that spend

308-664: A certain role. Bribery and corruption continued to be a theme of lobbying through the 1930s, when the Beauharnois scandal highlighted a cash-for-contract scheme similar to the Pacific Scandal. The period after the Second World War saw the United States institute its first comprehensive legislation restricting activities of lobbyists in 1946, but Canada declined to do so until 1989. The 1960s saw

385-500: A competing company. In this period, Canadian manufacturers may also have been involved in lobbying for protections by import tariffs under John A. Macdonald's national policy, and certainly lobbied for its continuance when the tariffs were under threat in 1911. During this time, the interests of Nova Scotia coal companies were also the subject of lobbying, with member of parliament for Cumberland, Charles Tupper, being persuaded by coal producers to lobby for increased coal tariffs. In

462-474: A complex interplay of interests and political dynamics. Scholarship on influencing of decision-makers within various First Nations is sparse. Traditions and practices likely may have varied widely from nation to nation. The political culture in colonial Canada was imported from the British and French traditions, including early forms of political influence such as submission of petitions, which existed from

539-478: A contract basis. More lobbyists may likely be found registered provincially but not federally. As of 2024, the number of lobbyists who had registered had reached 9,000. Most lobbyists are in-house, meaning they work as a full employee of an organization, not a contractor. These lobbyists can be part of for-profit corporations, or other not-for-profit organizations, and exist in roughly equal proportion. Corporate lobbyists are therefore hired with money generated from

616-577: A diverse array of interest groups, associations, and practices, with in-house lobbyists representing corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Professionalization of lobbying has led to the emergence of associations like the Canadian Association of Political Consultants and the Public Affairs Association of Canada. These associations play a role in networking and advocacy within the lobbying profession, reflecting

693-427: A federal membership, though he notes many also have a tri-level structure, with local associations in a provincial umbrella and a larger federal umbrella. He also notes there were at that time very few associations that were affiliates of international NGOs . The functions of these associations are characterized by Presthus as the following: recommending appointees to public posts, issuing publications, intervening for

770-478: A government contract. The act then defines a lobbyist as anyone who spends more than 20% of their time in any given month doing lobbying or preparing for lobbying. The act requires those lobbyists to register and, if they have done any lobbying activity during a month, to provide a monthly report on their activities, including the date, name of the office holder they contacted, and the subject of their communications. These reports are then placed for free public access on

847-452: A large amount of time focusing on the political sphere and as a result are given deference. The director in this model begins to function as an intermediary between members of the association and with government officials, as well as an intermediary between members and the public through communication campaigns and through spokesmanship Most associations were historically in the business or industry space, but Presthus notes that in 1970, there

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924-637: A number of acts, including renaming the Lobbyists Registration Act to the Lobbying Act. The provisions in this amendment entered into force in 2008, and included establishing the Lobbying Commissioner as an independent officer of parliament, meaning the government (Prime Minister and cabinet) has no authority to command the commissioner. The act also established a prohibition on many previous civil servants (usually at

1001-484: A revenue stream. He also noted that membership in these associations was generally affordable, a majority of non-industry associations had dues of under $ 100 (1970 nominal) per year, and a majority of industry associations were under $ 2000 per year. Most expenditures are spent in-house, presumably largely on staff, as a majority of association budgets were under $ 150,000. At that time, executive directors were well-paid on average, with approximately two-thirds of them being in

1078-553: A revolving door, where people may move between government to industry groups, giving too much insight into the government process and which arguments to make to shape policy, necessitating revolving door legislation like that currently found in the Lobbying Act. In the 1970s, a near majority of bureaucrats described lobbying as important to their work in policy making, with only 40% saying it played little or no role. The majority of lobbying meetings are taken either by civil servants or members of parliament. Government ministers do receive

1155-469: A robust grain economy and ease of grain shipping . The emergence of the interest group can be linked to the "Old Tory" tradition of Great Britain, where networks of elites were thought to play an important role in informing the political system as to the development of policy. Lobbyists in the 1970s for example, were often part of not only one interest group, but on average, three. Contemporary events in Canadian lobbying include reforms brought about after

1232-597: A sizeable amount of lobbying, more than the average member of parliament or senator. The funding of associations was traditionally dues based, but there was traditional variation that likely continues to this day, with religious and welfare interest groups more likely to be funded by donations than dues, industrial associations more likely to be funded by dues, and with some educational interest groups or others receiving government funds through grants. Some alternative forms of funding may have existed, with Presthus noting that companies were using trade booth space at conventions as

1309-674: A statement emphasizing their job-training function that they play. In-house lobbyists are generally centered in interest groups, usually styled as "associations". Many associations, as of the 1970s, explicitly have government relations in their mandates or founding objects. These associations in the 1970s were typically staffed by 2 or more full-time staff, including a director and a secretary, and many had others working in research or communications functions. Most of them were funded by member dues, with different forms of memberships having different prices. The governance of these groups typically had an incorporated structure with annual general meetings,

1386-456: A voluntary professional association such as the Canadian Association of Political Consultants, which represents lobbyists as well as media consultants, political staffers, pollsters and others, both provincially and federally. This association does maintain a code of ethics which provides guidelines for actions, though has no enforcement value. Another association is the Public Affairs Association of Canada, which conducts advocacy work on behalf of

1463-437: Is difficult, but Presthus generally characterizes them as transactional, having political capital to spend, and spend most of their time building that capital. Statistically, meetings with MPs were a major activity of associations, with industry associations having the most significant number of meetings, at a statistically significant level. Efficacy of this gathering of capital could be measured by "psychopolitical" ratings, how

1540-757: Is now commonly known as the Durham Report . Because of suggestions by Lord Durham in his report, the British Parliament united Upper and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada . Lord Durham wanted to re-instate peace throughout the colonies and recommended a political union. It was under his belief that peace could best be achieved by ensuring a loyal English majority in British North America, as well as by anglicizing French Canadians, and by granting responsible government . The union

1617-850: Is styled the Lobbyist Act, and Quebec, where it is styled as the Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act. The Yukon Territory also has a lobbying act, though no act exists for the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. The Northwest Territories declined to enact legislation in 2015. Lobbyists in Canada are not automatically part of any registered association, and while they have oversight by a government agency, they do not have any mandatory self-regulatory professional organization such as other professions such as Professional Engineers Ontario , or College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario . Lobbyists may however choose to join

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1694-643: The Act of Union 1840 , ( French : Acte d’Union ) was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal . It abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and established a new political entity, the Province of Canada to replace them. After the War of 1812 , the elected assembly of Lower Canada was dominated by French Canadians . A strong sense of nationalism sprung up among

1771-723: The Durham Report after violence between the Family Compact and its oligopic state power and William Lyon Mackenzie's reform rebellion. Due to the close-knit informal nature of these organizations, lobbying was largely restricted to those with economic power, religious power or social status. For example, the Bank of Upper Canada , closely associated with the Family Compacy, lobbied the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada that no other bank should be chartered in

1848-617: The Ninety-Two Resolutions . The British Parliament ignored the resolutions for about three years and then all but dismissed them. Eventually, the Patriot Party organized and executed two rebellions, the first in November 1837 and the second in November 1838. French and English Patriots battled with British soldiers, French Canadian officers and English Montrealers. Both times, a lack of organization and numbers made

1925-851: The Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould refused to implement despite the Office of the Prime Minister 's requests. The improper influence of the Attorney General against the Shawcross principle became a major scandal which was criticized by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner in a 2019 report. During the COVID-19 pandemic , lobbying by WE Charity of

2002-548: The TransCanada Corporation , when looking to build the Energy East pipeline, launched a campaign trying to generate public interest in the project, while simultaneously lobbying for the pipeline's approval. Lobbying would classically also include inviting politicians to receptions, gatherings at a private venue or a room rented within the legislature where food or drinks may be served, and lobbyists for

2079-752: The World Society for the Protection of Animals as a non-profit was one of the Top 10. With reforms in the Trudeau Ministry to the Senate of Canada , lobbying of Senators increased about 600% between 2015 pre-reform to 2017 post-reform, as Senators are now seen to have more independence and more authority to propose amendments to legislation for the House to implement. The legislation that regulates

2156-537: The sponsorship scandal . While the kickback scheme did not apparently involve lobbying in the traditional sense, the Gomery Commission did make recommendations which were incorporated into legislation in 2006, which led to increased restrictions coming into force in 2008, including broader ability to prosecute lobbyists, and established the Commissioner of Lobbying , an officer of parliament, outside of

2233-529: The 1830s reform movement in then Upper Canada , seeing irrelevance by the mid-1840s. The Château Clique was similarly irrelevant due to changes instituting responsible government in then Lower Canada , seeing irrelevance by the late 1830s. During this period, the decision-makers that lobbyists were looking to influence were unelected Lieutenant Governors in addition to their Executive Councils (usually elites appointed to upper legislative chambers). elected lower houses of legislatures, and judicial officials. There

2310-477: The 1910s, various cities in Canada saw the importation of an American model of civic committees for beautification. In Halifax for example, a committee formed from the local business interests by the Halifax Board of Trade lobbied the municipal government for investment in civic centres. Various civic committees engaged in a strategy of hiring British planning experts to give speeches locally, leading to

2387-453: The 21st century, technology such as allowing for e-mail and digital submissions has increased the accessibility of lobbying. Over 700 groups were able to submit budget briefs to the finance committee in connection with the federal budget, including not only industry groups, but individuals, charities, not-for-profits, academics and labour unions. The top 10 lobbying organizations of 2012 were still dominated specifically by business interests, but

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2464-538: The British Parliament. On the 10 of February 1841, it was declared in Montreal, officially marking the beginning of the newly formed Province of Canada. The capital was moved to Kingston . One of the main provisions of the act was establishing a single parliament with an equal number of seats per region. Canada West, with its 450,000 inhabitants, was represented by 42 seats in the Legislative Assembly ,

2541-481: The Family Compact, while in Lower Canada political and religious leaders reacted against Upper Canada's anti-French measures. The act established a single parliament with an equal number of seats for each region, now called Canada East and Canada West. Both regions’ debts were consolidated. A permanent Civil List was created. The French language was banished from official government use. The legislation to fuse

2618-546: The Patriot Party and the existing government. The next two governors general, Lord Aylmer (1830–1835) and Lord Gosford (1835-1838), also sought to reconcile the government with the ever-growing demands of the people. The situation in Lower Canada continued to worsen, nevertheless. The French and the English living in Lower Canada became increasingly polarized from one another, as tensions continue to grow. The Patriot Party tried to reason with British rule, including by sending

2695-654: The Patriots fall within a week of the rebellions' start. The rebellion in Upper Canada in 1837 was less violent than its counterpart in Lower Canada had been. However, Upper Canadian rebels were equally serious in their demands. The main leader of the rebellion was William Lyon Mackenzie . Its demands included democratic reform and the end of the rule of privileged oligarchy. The rebellion in Upper Canada ran from December 5 to 8. The transfer of some of Britain's militia force to Lower Canada inspired rebels to try to seize

2772-463: The Province of Canada. The granting of responsible government to the colony is typically attributed to reforms in 1848 (principally the effective transfer of control over patronage from the governor to the elected ministry). The reforms resulted in the appointment of the second Baldwin - Lafontaine government that quickly removed many of the disabilities on French-Canadian political participation in

2849-426: The U.S. implementing lobbying regulations in 1946 and Canada following suit in 1989. The 21st century has seen significant developments in Canadian lobbying, including reforms post the sponsorship scandal and high-profile lobbying scandals. Legislative frameworks at federal and provincial levels define lobbying parameters, registration requirements, and codes of conduct. The current lobbying landscape in Canada includes

2926-402: The ability of legislators to effectively legislate. An example of this might be the insight of an economist working for a non-profit that pursues the non-profit's interest (improving welfare for less well-off Canadians), by providing expertise on how the Canadian government can most efficiently increase resources in the welfare system in response to COVID-19 . This can however create the risk of

3003-516: The act also contained measures banning the French language from official use in the Canadian parliament . However, despite the amalgamation, the distinct legal systems of the two colonies were retained with Upper Canada becoming referred to as Canada West (with English common law ) and Lower Canada as Canada East (with French civil law ). In Upper Canada, there was opposition to unionization from

3080-505: The advent of a number of new civic society groups, including many not associated with business interests. Groups that may have existed previous to the Second World War saw increased relevance, such as civil liberties group CCLA , municipal advocacy group FCM , and professional groups such as the CMA , CBA , and CAUT , representing doctors, lawyers, and university professors, respectively. New organizations began as well: environmental groups and

3157-543: The benefit of individual members (a sort of "our man in Ottawa"), hosting annual meetings with important stakeholders, building coalitions with other associations on specific issues, and running an award program, where aligned politicians are given public recognition. How each of these functions may have changed or gone defunct is uncertain, for example, giving awards may have gone out of vogue. Lobbyists may also pair their interactions with public pressure campaigns. For example,

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3234-420: The code. The Commissioner of Lobbying is responsible for not only conducting enforcement, but also providing clarifications, either proactively or on request, as to what activities do or do not comport with lobbying regulation. Penalties under the act range from fines of between $ 0 and $ 200,000, and imprisonment of up to 2 years for an indictable (serious) offence. Few lobbyists have ever been prosecuted under

3311-672: The colony. By the late 1850s, massive immigration from the British Isles to Canada West changed the previous demographic imbalance between the English and French sections of the colony. Many politicians in Canada West began to lobby for representation by population, as they no longer considered the equal representation mandated by the Act of Union to be just. In the end, the Act of Union failed at shutting down French Canadian political influence, especially after responsible government

3388-551: The corporation's income, but not-for-profit organizations are more often funded by donations or memberships. Lobbying usually focuses on aligning the interests of the lobbying principal (the organization who hired the lobbyist) with the interests or objectives of the government. For example, almost every government is interested in growing the economy, so the Canadian Federation of Independent Business frames their interests in generally more permissive regulations through

3465-409: The creation of Canada's first municipal planning acts. These touring speeches were also paired with early instances of a non-governmental groups publicly circulating model legislation , not only locally, but lobbying for unified municipal planning bylaws across Canada. In 1918, the political patronage system was abolished for the federal public service, reducing the ability to lobby to be placed into

3542-590: The debentures and led Galt to withdraw, leading to Galt's eventual resignation. After Confederation , informal relationships between economic elites and first ministers continued, with the Pacific Scandal resulting from the Canadian Pacific Railway lobbying through bribery of first post-Confederation Prime Minister John A. Macdonald , causing MacDonald to favour the bid of the CPR over

3619-573: The direct control of the government . The 21st century also saw the first successful prosecution of a lobbyist under lobbying legislation for a lobbyist failing to register in 2013. Under the Justin Trudeau Ministry , multiple lobbying scandals have had significant public attention. The SNC-Lavalin affair , where lobbying was conducted to implement deferred prosecutions in the Canadian Criminal Code , which

3696-405: The double majority principle, both Canadas were "reseparated," and for a short while, both sides were managed independently. Joint premierships shared by an anglophone from Canada West and a francophone from Canada East became the convention, but continual legislative deadlock resulting from the conflicting aspirations of the two Canadas remained. Dissatisfaction resulting from the deadlock was one of

3773-411: The duality of the two administrations. The principle was never officially recognized and became obviously impracticable. However, the francophone presence remained inferior to their demographic weight in the executive and legislative councils. The government of Lafontaine-Baldwin succeeded in repealing the measure against the French language in the assembly, the courts, and the civil administration. With

3850-481: The francophones living in Lower Canada. The nationalists were led by Louis-Joseph Papineau , who was a part of what would later be known as the Patriot Party . One of its biggest demands was to determine how the colony's revenue would be spent. It challenged the authority of the upper house of the legislature. As well, the party sought to take control of civil services such as the executive council, which advised

3927-548: The government and institute the constitution they had drafted, similar to that of the US Constitution . The rebels were dispersed by British arms and a group of government volunteers. Because of the rebellions, the Crown and the British Parliament sent John George Lambton , Earl of Durham, back to Canada to report on what had caused the rebellions and outline suggestions on how to best fix the situation. The investigation

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4004-542: The government to create a program that the charity was uniquely well situated to bid for became an issue, leading to the WE Charity scandal and WE Charity's subsequent winddown of Canadian operations. The issue with lobbying included whether inviting the family of the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau to attend events run by the charity, with expenses paid, constituted a conflict of interest and improper lobbying. During

4081-413: The group are able to make a speech or interact with politicians or staffers who attend. Lobbying often has a goal of facilitating knowledge transfer. Many targets of lobbying may be unaware of statistics, anecdotes or trends that the organization that is lobbying is aware of. In this way, academics sometimes conceptualize lobbyists as experts who inform public policy making and play a key role in improving

4158-568: The legislation, and only about 20 formal investigations since investigatory powers were added to the act. In a thorough 2018 comparative politics book chapter comparing Canada, the US and the UK, Jeremy Sapers found that Canada was an early adopter of lobbying legislation, with the United States as a frontrunner, and Canada being one of the first four countries globally to establish legislation. Sapers characterizes Canada's system as facilitating easy entry into

4235-649: The lens of a "stronger business environment", implying economic growth, employment, and general tax revenue. As another example, when provincial government in Ontario switched in 2018 to the Ford Ministry , focused on slimming government, doing-more-with-less, and an educational focus of making students ready for the workforce, an alignment that was likely to favour career colleges , the Council of Ontario Universities , which represents traditional universities issued

4312-509: The level of assistant deputy minister or above) from becoming a lobbyist for the first 5 years after leaving their government post, extending the length of time after an infringement that a lobbyist could be prosecuted (from 2 to 10 years), and some other changes stemming from recommendations of the Gomery Commission. The current act defines lobbying as persons receiving paid compensation to communicate with public office holders about changes to government law, regulation or programs, or to obtain

4389-439: The lobbying industry is found in the lobbying act. The Lobbying Act began as the Lobbyists Registration Act, which came into force in 1989 after approximately 20 years of interest expressed through private member's bills . The motivation of the act was to provide a record of who the lobbyists on the federal level were, and what meetings they were having. The registration act also created the role of Registrar of Lobbyists, whose role

4466-528: The lobbying profession on the topic of lobbying regulation, and also provides services to members such as running networking events, and is likewise open to a wide range of political jobs. Estimates for the number of lobbyists in Canada are at roughly 5000 lobbyists in the federal system as of 2011. Of these 5000, about 84% or 4300 worked within a not-for-profit or a corporation as an "in-house lobbyist", while about 800 worked as "consultant lobbyists", or in firms that sell lobbying services to other organizations on

4543-435: The lobbyists are perceived by politicians. When asked to self-assess what politicians thought of them, slightly more than half of lobbyists believed they had good levels of this ratings, with only labour leaders rating themselves low, despite being the best funded on average. Act of Union 1840 [REDACTED] Canada portal The British North America Act, 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 35), also known as

4620-885: The profession of lobbying. He also notes that Canada, like the US, differs from lobbying to the European Union , as registration of lobbyists in the EU system was voluntary. Sapers concludes that Canada's regulatory regime is commendable, but below the standards of the United States, with further financial disclosures being the key weakness of Canada's regime, as Canada does not require disclosure of lobbyist spending on lobbying activities. Every province has its own lobbying legislation regarding lobbying officials in that province, and federal law does not apply to lobbying provincial officials. These acts are usually styled as Lobbyist's Registration acts, except in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where it

4697-559: The province, arguing that smaller banking establishments were more prone to collapse, as had been seen in the United States. Canadian political scientist Robert Presthus highlights that early interest groups had formed by this period. In 1792, the first agricultural association identifiable by Presthus, the Agricultural Association of Quebec had been formed. The first industry group, the Montreal Board of Trade

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4774-411: The same number as the more populated Canada East, with 650,000 inhabitants. The French-Canadian majority, as well as numerous anglophones, considered this an injustice. In Lower Canada, Louis-Joseph Papineau demanded representation by population and the recall of the union the minute he entered the new parliament of the united Canadas. Debts from Upper and Lower Canada were also combined and transferred to

4851-691: The sitting governor-general. All the demands were refuted by the Governor General, the Earl of Dalhousie , who was the governor general of British North America from 1820 to 1828. However, in 1828, he was replaced because of a negative report given by members of parliament comprising British reformers who sought to make peace with the Lower Canadian Assembly. The next governor general was Sir James Kempt , who lasted from 1828 to 1830. Kempt's time in office briefly eased tensions between

4928-471: The start of Canada's parliamentary structure. Lobbying in the early 1800s was dominated by the Family Compact and Château Clique , informal networks of the social elite, engaging in clientelism , where economic favours are exchanged for political favours, and patronage , where government posts are given out to favoured political supporters instead of by merit . The Family Compact was weakened by

5005-418: The top earnings decile, with some variation by sector. Staff were noted to generally have deep subject matter, with approximately 40% of lobbyists having spent 10 years or more in the association or the industry. Ethnic interest groups were less likely to have this configuration and were more likely to have volunteers rather than full-time paid staff. Conceptualizing the political power of these organizations

5082-419: The two Canadas, greater power was vested in party leaders and the civil service. Patronage and clientelism continued, but with a decreased emphasis on religious elites. Little is known about lobbying in this period. Nova Scotia was the first Canadian adopter of responsible government. Some evidence exists of relationships between Nova Scotia pre-confederation premier Charles Tupper , who prior to Confederation

5159-580: The two separate colonies into one functioning unit that would operate under one government instead of two separate legislatures was brought before the British House of Commons in May 1839. Later the legislation was sent for approval by both Upper and Lower Canada by way of Charles Poulett Thomson . He received acceptance of the legislation by both colonies in November and December of the same year. The legislation then became an act in July 1840 when passed by

5236-608: The umbrella advocacy alliance Canadian Council for International Co-operation were both founded in the 1960s. The model of advocacy partnership was popular during this time, seeing conglomerations of interest groups under common banners, such as the Canada Grains Council, which was an umbrella organization representing farmers groups, railway groups, ports groups, and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities , all of which had an interest in

5313-494: The website of the Commissioner of Lobbying. The act also establishes a statutory code of conduct for lobbyists, including not just rules that lobbyists must follow, but also as of the 2006 amendment, also make the principles that they must follow carry punishment if they contravene the principles. The code of conduct was most recently amended in 2015 after recommendations from the commissioner to parliament on how to update

5390-575: Was a strong supporter of the interest of trans-Canada railway companies, and negotiating with the General Mining Association, which had a de facto monopoly on mining. Early Canadian colonial history also gives early examples of lobbying in such a way as to defeat government action. When minister of finance Alexander Galt attempted to issue provincial debentures in Canada West in the 1860s, bankers and merchants in "western Canada"—here likely referring to Southwestern Ontario, opposed

5467-530: Was also proposed to solve pressing financial issues in Upper Canada, which had become increasingly indebted under the previous regime dominated by the Family Compact . These debts stemmed mostly from poor investments in canals connecting Upper Canada to the Port of Montreal in Lower Canada via the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River . Due to Upper Canada's considerable debt and chronic budget shortfalls, it

5544-515: Was also substantial representation of the Family compact in these institutions in Upper Canada. In Lower Canada, the clique was led by anglophone merchants, and succeeded in abolishing the Seigneurial system , but failed to abolish civil law . The influence of the compact and clique influence was substantially lessened after responsible government reforms such as elected upper houses brought on by

5621-714: Was founded in 1822. The first literary or historical society, which presumably solicited funding from the government, was founded in Quebec in 1824. The first interest group in the field of welfare was the Society for Relief of Strangers in Distress, in Toronto in 1827. Presthus finally identifies the first educational interest group, the Royal Institute for Advancement of Learning of Quebec in 1829. After unification of

5698-488: Was granted to the colony. By voting en bloc the francophones of Canada East guaranteed a strong, unified presence in the Legislative Assembly since the anglophones of Canada West were highly factionalized. As a result, bills proposed by one of the anglophone Canada West factions required the support of the francophone Canada East votes to be passed. That was known as the double majority principle and reflected

5775-606: Was hoped that its finances could be salvaged by merging it with the then-solvent Lower Canada. Upper Canada, with its British and Protestant majority, was growing more rapidly than Lower Canada, with the French-Canadian and Catholic majority. It was hoped that by merging the two colonies, the French-Canadian cultural presence in North America would gradually disappear through assimilation. As such,

5852-428: Was primarily one of collecting and releasing information as required by the act, and did not possess substantial enforcement powers. The Act was amended in 2003 after two years of study, where recommendations adopted included giving investigatory power, establishing a mandatory 5-year review, and establishing that the politicians who were lobbied also have their names published. These amendments and others were enacted in

5929-523: Was substantial quantitively variation in the number of provincial advocacy groups, with more labour unions in BC, more business industries in Ontario, and more welfare groups in Quebec. He also notes that at the time, there were relatively few agricultural associations, that he speculates may be due to heavy rural representation. He also notes that the most common group of advocacy groups are locally based, presumably travelling to Ottawa on occasion, rather than having

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