A memo to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree indicates Canada’s foreign agent registry, passed into law last year, may not be ready until 2026, missing the June 30 deadline without explanation, according to Blacklock’s.

A June 9 briefing note, Implementation Of The Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, stated, "Establishing a new independent office takes time." It added that allies like Australia and the UK took over two years to implement similar systems, and Canada is learning from their experiences.

Mandatory registration for foreign agents was enacted in the United States in 1938, followed by Australia in 2018, and the United Kingdom in 2023.

A CCP-linked WeChat account ran a foreign influence campaign supporting Mark Carney and the 2025 election, reaching up to 3M views. The operation aimed to sway Chinese-Canadian voters with coordinated, inauthentic content. Ottawa was briefed April 6. pic.twitter.com/OelGCXcCr9

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 7, 2025

In June 2024, parliament passed into law Bill C-70, An Act Respecting Countering Foreign Interference, which requires those lobbying public office holders under foreign influence to register, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment or a $5 million fine.

On December 10, Public Safety announced a "June time frame" for the public registry, assuring senators it would be in place this summer.

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“Everything is progressing to the plan though I must say there could be a lot of contingencies along the way,” said Sébastien Aubertin-Giguere, associate assistant deputy public safety minister. “But our internal plan is to be ready.”

However, Minister Anandasangaree's memo indicated “the dissolution of Parliament on March 23 allowed for a reassessment of timelines and scope." It cited the project's complexity across legal, regulatory, technological, and administrative domains for delays.

Poilievre derides Liberals over foreign registry delays

Bill C-70 requires those lobbying public office holders under foreign influence to register, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment or a hefty $5 million fine.https://t.co/MXPYj3Kc2y

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 12, 2025

Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the delay in enforcing Bill C-70, asking April 9, “Why haven’t the Liberals got the foreign agent registry up and running? Then we would know proactively who is working on behalf of a foreign government.”

He urged a foreign registry to help Canadians identify "bad actors," like Chinese diplomats and their proxies, who worked to defeat "hostile" Conservative politicians in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Prior to the April 28 election, the Liberal Party removed four ex-caucus members—MPs Chandra Arya, Paul Chiang, Ruby Dhalla, and Han Dong—as candidates due to unspecified "certain information," as stated by Prime Minister Mark Carney on March 26.

Leaked top-secret intelligence reports confirmed China's long-standing interference in Canadian elections, using disinformation, undeclared cash, and student volunteers for Liberal candidates.

In addition, the RCMP continues to investigate the alleged operations of at least seven secret police stations in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

CPC MP Kenny Chiu is shown text messages in Chinese that detail CCP misinfo about his foreign agent registry proposal.

And talks about an incident door knocking where he was told he hates Chinese people by people who had previously voted for him. pic.twitter.com/LXPP0BnCFu

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 3, 2024

For nearly two years, the Liberal-held Senate delayed Conservative Bill S-237, An Act To Establish The Foreign Influence Registry. The bill collapsed with the January 6 prorogation of Parliament.

“The creation of a foreign influence registry has been proposed many times in recent years, but no bill has been passed,” said the report Foreign Interference And The Threats To The Integrity Of Democratic Institutions.

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, targeted by an alleged Beijing disinformation campaign, introduced Bill C-282 two years ago to establish the Foreign Influence Registry.

“Sunshine is the best disinfectant,” he told the Foreign Interference Commission, though the MP then failed to secure re-election in 2021 and the bill collapsed.

Watch Justin Trudeau attempt to answer a question on why his government hasn’t yet enacted a foreign agent registry law in Canada, unlike our allies:

Source: Bloomberg. pic.twitter.com/wGEXx6VuNz

— Andy Lee - Special Rebel Rapporteur (@RealAndyLeeShow) September 8, 2023

Justin Trudeau claimed a foreign registry hasn't solved issues elsewhere, but consultations reveal broad Canadian and stakeholder support for one.

Conservative Michael Chong and New Democrat Jenny Kwan, both Chinese-Canadian MPs previously targeted by foreign agents, support a registry.

“Foreign interference activities often transcend party lines, ideologies and ethnic backgrounds and often take place over a period of several years,” said the memo People’s Republic Of China Foreign Interference In Canada: A Critical National Security Threat.