In Canada, Big Oil held 1,318 lobbying meetings during Mark Carney's first year

A new report is prompting fresh scrutiny over how regularly fossil fuel companies are getting in front of Canada's top federal officials.

From May 2025 through April 2026, the sector recorded an alarming 1,318 lobbying meetings with Prime Minister Mark Carney's government, roughly five per working day.

What's happening?

Drawing on federal Lobby Registry records, one Canadian environmental advocacy group, Environmental Defence, says oil and gas companies have had "unprecedented" access to senior decision-makers during Prime Minister Carney's first year in office.

According to the group, Carney himself met with fossil fuel lobbyists at least 14 times during his first year as prime minister, and more than 20 times since being elected Liberal Party leader. Meanwhile, as the report noted, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson had no fewer than 83 meetings with fossil fuel representatives, an enormous increase over the next-highest-lobbied minister from 2024, who only had 19 meetings with oil lobbyists.

The organization also counted a staggering 305 meetings involving companies in the Oil Sands Alliance. 

Julia Levin, associate director of national climate at Environmental Defence, wrote of the report, "Since becoming Prime Minister, Mark Carney has taken a wrecking ball to the country's climate progress. And it's no wonder, given that fossil fuel lobbyists have been given unprecedented access to his government."

Levin added, "Minister Hodgson has been cheerleading for fossil fuel corporations, even greenwashing the industry's climate and environmental impact. As a reminder, the oil and gas industry is Canada's largest source of the climate pollution that's driving disasters like wildfires, heat waves, and floods."

Why does it matter?

Lobbying can play a major role in shaping which energy projects receive political support, public funding, and regulatory approval.

Environmental Defence says that level of access helps account for the federal government's continued support for liquefied natural gas projects, pipelines, and carbon capture proposals even as climate risks intensify.

The consequences go beyond planet-warming emissions. Fossil fuels can also directly harm people and communities. Coal- and natural gas-fired power plants contribute to air and water pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death.

They can also keep household energy costs high by leaving families tied to fuel sources with volatile prices instead of cleaner, more abundant energy from sunlight and wind.

Additionally, this lobbying is reducing trust that public officials work for their citizens and are not power-hungry and easily swayed by lobbyists. Levin contextualized this, writing, "Canadians can't trust Minister Hodgson, who served on the board of an oil company, to regulate the industry that he has such cozy ties to."

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