Canada’s Foreign Influence Registry expected to take effect in August

Hong Kong Watch welcomes the news that Canada’s long-awaited Foreign Influence Transparency Registry will come into force on August 4, 2026, more than two years after the Countering Foreign Interference Act (Bill C-70) received Royal Assent.

An Order in Council issued in late June confirms that Part 4 of the Act, which establishes the registry and the office of the Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner, will take effect on that date. Mr. Anton Boegman is set to be formally appointed as Commissioner the same day.

Canada’s foreign influence registry will require individuals and organisations acting on behalf of foreign governments or related entities to publicly register their activities. The registry is intended to increase transparency about foreign influence in Canadian political and governmental processes and help deter covert foreign interference.

In June 2024, Hong Kong Watch testified before both the House of Commons and the Senate in support of Bill C-70, calling for the swift passage and implementation of a foreign agent registry to help counter the transnational repression faced by Hong Kongers and other diaspora communities in Canada. The bill passed, but its central accountability mechanism has sat dormant ever since, leaving the Hong Kong community exposed during a period when reports of foreign interference and intimidation continued to mount.

Landson Chan, Advocacy and Communications Officer of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“This is a welcome, if long overdue, step. For two years, Hong Kongers in Canada have continued to report surveillance, intimidation, and pressure from agents linked to Beijing, while the very tool meant to expose that activity sat unused. The registry finally coming into force means Canada can begin building a public record of who is acting for foreign states and why.

We urge the federal government to move quickly to implement the registry in full, resource the Commissioner’s office adequately, and revisit the Act’s scope to ensure it protects Canadians from the full spectrum of transnational repression, not only activity narrowly tied to elections and legislation.”

加拿大外國影響透明度登記制度預計8月生效

加拿大《C-70打擊外國干預法案》獲得御准兩年有多後，引頸以待的外國影響透明度登記制度（Foreign Influence Transparency Registry）將於2026年8月4日生效，香港監察歡迎這個消息。

6月底頒布的樞密院頒令確認，法案第四部分（設立制度和外國影響透明度專員辦事處）將於當日生效。Anton Boegman將於同日獲正式任命為專員。

加拿大外國影響登記制度將要求代表外國政府或相關實體行事的個人和組織公開登記活動。登記制度旨在提高加拿大政治及政府程序的外國影響透明度，協助阻嚇隱秘的外國干預行為。

2024年6月，香港監察分別在眾議院和參議院作證，表明支持《C-70法案》，同時呼籲迅速通過並實施外國代理人登記制度，協助打擊針對加拿大港人及其他離散社群的跨國鎮壓行為。法案獲得通過，但相關核心問責機制卻一直停滯不前，令港人社群在外國干預和恐嚇事件不斷增加的時期毫無保護。

香港監察倡議及傳訊主任Landson Chan表示：

「這是值得歡迎但耽誤已久的措施。兩年來，加拿大港人持續報告受到與北京有關係的代理人監視、恐嚇和施壓，而旨在揭發相關活動的工具卻一直閒置不用。如今登記制度終於生效，意味着加拿大可以開始建立公開紀錄，記錄代表外國行事的個人和組織及理由。

我們促請聯邦政府迅速行動，全面實施登記制度，為專員辦事處提供充足的資源，並重新審視法案的涵蓋範圍，確保能夠保護加拿大人免受各種跨國鎮壓威脅，而而不單局限於與選舉和立法相關的活動。」

Photo: Jason Hafso on Unsplash