Part of effective advocacy in 2024 means preparing for a possible shakeup from the approaching federal election, and taking advantage of virtual communication tools, which are now used less frequently since the pandemic’s height, but haven’t gone away entirely, say lobbyists.

“If you are currently sitting in an office saying, ‘Geez, the CPC may be in power soon. We need a Conservative plan,’ then the chances are, it’s already too late,” said Jacquie LaRocque, founder of Compass Rose Group and a former Liberal ministerial Hill staffer. “Whether it’s a transition to a new CPC government or transition to a renewed or reimagined Liberal government, at the end of the day, the words and the approach that you use in building those policy solutions need to be palpable to everyone. If you haven’t been doing that for some time … you’re late to the discussion.”

The next election, scheduled for October 2025, has lobbyists anticipating possible outcomes, including a renewed mandate from a re-elected Liberal government, or a new course that could be set by the first federal Conservative government in nearly a decade. An election could be called even sooner because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) leads a minority government.

Many currently feel they are in a “transition phase” as they look ahead to the election, but one of the basic principles held by all “thoughtful lobbyists” is engaging with all parties all the time, said LaRocque.

“I think change is inevitable, either way, based on whether it’s a renewed Liberal government or a new CPC government,” she said. “Credibility is built on time invested in educating people on your considerations and your needs as industries, or educating people on your clients’ needs, [and] on the needs of the communities where they operate.”

Kevin Bosch, a managing partner with Sandstone Group and a former deputy director of the Liberal Research Bureau, told The Hill Times that effective lobbyists work to “build champions for the interests of their clients across the political spectrum.”

“You need to prepare your clients for all possible government outcomes. If a [government relations] strategy had ignored the NDP, for example, over the last few years, it would have missed the outsized influence that the confidence-and-supply agreement is having in shaping public policy today,” he said in an emailed statement on Feb. 21. “What an organization can achieve under a Conservative government may be different than what they can achieve under a Liberal government due to the different policy priorities each party brings to the table. What organizations should be considering is what are realistic and attainable goals, given the orientation of the government of the day, and crafting their strategic approach accordingly. Parties are writing their election platform now.”

When asked about how the lobbying environment is changing, Bosch said the pandemic taught everyone in government how online meetings can be an effective part of time management, and allowing them to speak with and learn from a broad range of stakeholders from across the country. Even in the post-pandemic era, a lot of elected officials and government staff still prefer online meetings, according to Bosch.

“This reality means that to be an effective lobbyist today, you have to be adept at coaching your clients to convey their messaging concisely and compellingly, both in an online meeting as well as those held in-person,” he said.

Muhammad Ali, a vice-president at Crestview Strategy and a former Liberal staffer, told The Hill Times in an emailed statement on Feb. 20 that many lobbyists have returned to a preference for in-person gathering, but still rely on virtual communication as a backup.

“There is this recognition that better outcomes are being achieved from in-person meetings, as opposed to virtual where folks are distracted off-camera, so it’s hard to see body language [or] facial expressions and ultimately engaging with folks within their comfort zones,” he said.

“From a content perspective, lobbying is shifting to needing a recognition that you need to not only engage with the government of today, but strongly consider engag[ing] with the government of tomorrow before an election. That dynamic has meant a need to diversify engagement strategies, messaging and ultimately increase time spent engaging with elected officials, staffers and public servants.”

Being an effective lobbyist is about more than just filing a lot of communication reports, according to Ali.

“A meeting for the sake of a meeting is not helpful to anyone if the purpose is to simply check a box. When engaging in meaningful conversation, making the connection between what you, as a stakeholder, are advocating for and why it matters to who you are meeting with and how it will help them, this becomes the basis for an effective meeting,” he said in the emailed statement.

Don Moors, president of Temple Scott Associates, told The Hill Times in an email on Feb. 22 that the level of government relations and diversity of issues being lobbied on continues to increase.

“Adjusting to competing demands for politicians, ministers’ offices, and public servants’ attention is important in lobbying campaigns. It changes tactics, strategy and messaging,” he said. “Changing economic conditions [is] also key, the increase in inflation and the rise of affordability concerns has changed the issues driving the agenda as well as how lobbyists frame their campaigns. Looking ahead if there is a change in economic conditions will also need to be accounted for by successful lobbyists.”

A good lobbyist needs to be able to develop and execute strategies that convince decision-makers that what the lobbyist’s client wants fits within the decision-makers’ priorities, said Moors.

“Telling a decision-maker why an issue is important to a client isn’t compelling. Convincing a decision-maker that an issue is also important to them is key,” he said. “It sounds simple, but often lobbyists and their clients only articulate why an issue is important to them. The best ways to convince someone to tackle an issue can differ significantly, depending on if the audience is a public servant, a ministerial staffer, or an opposition MP.”

Marc Desmarais, vice-president of government relations at National Public Affairs, told The Hill Times that it is crucial to be concise and direct when presenting an ask to an MP or government official.

“A trademark that I’ve developed over the years is [that] I don’t keep the ministers’ assistants or the MPs for very long. I come in, I state the case and we always bring solutions to the table,” said Desmarais in a virtual interview on Feb. 9. “I always tell clients, ‘it’s good to talk about an issue, about a change, but how is your change going to bring a solution to the table?’ When I talk to office administrators, I say, ‘here’s the issue. Here’s what the client believes,’ and then we have a dialogue and we move forward.”

Desmarais said he usually only meets for 15 to 30 minutes with a politician. “If we go beyond 30 minutes, we’re not doing our job,” he said.

However, it is just as important for a lobbyist to understand that some files will not see major progress, and will need to be returned to at a later date, according to Desmarais.

“You have to be able to give that counsel when a file is not moving, and I’ve been in situations before where I said ‘it’s important for us to get those clients, but if a file is not moving, we don’t want to waste that time and money’,” he said.

Desmarais said he and his colleagues will sometimes suggest to clients that they take a six-month pause on lobbying on a particular issue to see if anything changes.

“There is no sense in pushing an issue if the government is not there,” he said.

jcnockaert@hilltimes.com

sslipchenko@lobbymonitor.ca

Top 100 Lobbyists 2024:

The Hill Times reached out to more than 40 lobbyists, including both in-house representatives and consultants, to gather input for this year’s list.

The list is not a popularity contest, but is intended to showcase prominent lobbyists at the federal level based on their reputation and perceived effectiveness as judged by their peers. This list was compiled by The Hill Times reporter Jesse Cnockaert and Lobby Monitor deputy editor Sergiy Slipchenko, and is organized alphabetically by the lobbyist’s last name.

* On March 7, Perrin Beatty announced in a post on X (Twitter) his intention to leave the Canadian Chamber of Commerce this summer after 17 years as president and CEO with the organization. This announcement was made after this year’s list was completed.

Top Lobbied Cabinet Ministers (January 2023 to March 6, 2024)

This table shows the federal ministers who were listed in the most communication reports between Jan. 1, 2023 and March 6, 2024, based on a search of the federal lobbyists’ registry on March 6.