Lobbying of Prime Minister’s Office Saw 43 Percent Increase Last Year: Watchdog

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 2, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The lobbying of officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) increased by more than 43 percent last year compared to the previous fiscal year, contributing to an all-time lobbying high last year in Ottawa.

Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger, in her 2022–2023 annual report, writes that in 2022, PMO officials were lobbied through both “oral and arranged communications ... including where the prime minister also participated” a total of 1,602 times.