Once a month, we partner up with LobbyIQ to update our readers on recent movements in the federal lobbying landscape in Ottawa. We provide separate coverage for each channel, defined by the most relevant industries, organizations, institutions, and subject matters.

Channel overview: This newsletter aggregates lobbying activity across all NAICS industries that map to the Automotive umbrella.

Section A: Lobbying Activity by Industry

This section compares, by NAICS industry, the lobbying activity in Ottawa last month to its historical average.

Overall, lobbying across this channel's industries totalled 104 meetings in February 2026, compared to a 12-month average of 88.6 (+17%). This represents a roughly in line.

Automobile retail experienced a notable increase in lobbying activity — 8 meetings vs. a 12-month average of 5.7 (+41%).

↳ Compared to the same month in prior years (avg 3), this is a significant surge (+167%).

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing experienced a significant surge in lobbying activity — 17 meetings vs. a 12-month average of 9.8 (+74%).

Section B: Lobbying by Industry for the Past Year

To contextualize, we show each industry's lobbying activity over the past 12 months. The combined view from Section A and B shows you whether recent differences are persistent trends or a break from the norm.

Top Industry Residual Trends for 2026-02

↳ Motor vehicle parts manufacturing has shown a broadly upward trend in lobbying residuals over the past year.

↳ Motor vehicle parts manufacturing displayed high volatility in its lobbying pattern, suggesting irregular or event-driven activity.

↳ Automobile retail displayed high volatility in its lobbying pattern, suggesting irregular or event-driven activity.

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing has shown a broadly upward trend in lobbying residuals over the past year.

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing displayed high volatility in its lobbying pattern, suggesting irregular or event-driven activity.

Section C: Lobbying Activity by Organization

In this section, we see the organizations with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month, defined by either unusually high or unusually low lobbying activity.

The organizations with the most notable increases in lobbying this month include: Automotive Industries Association of Canada, Westport Fuel Systems Canada Inc., FCA Canada Inc..

↳ Automotive Industries Association of Canada: 24 meetings vs. 3.7 average (+555%).

↳ Westport Fuel Systems Canada Inc.: 11 meetings vs. 4.2 average (+164%).

↳ FCA Canada Inc.: 10 meetings vs. 5.6 average (+79%).

The organizations with the most notable decreases include: Toyota Canada Inc., GENERAL MOTORS OF CANADA COMPANY.

↳ Toyota Canada Inc.: 1 meetings vs. 9.9 average (-90%).

↳ GENERAL MOTORS OF CANADA COMPANY: 3 meetings vs. 7.8 average (-61%).

Section D: Lobbying of Government Institutions in the Past Month

Every time an organization lobbies, there is a government official representing a government institution at the other side of the table. This section shows the industry-institutions pairs with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month, defined by either unusually high or unusually low lobbying activity. Below that, we show the corresponding organization-institution pairs.

Industries → Government Institutions

Organizations → Government Institutions

Notable industry → institution pairs this month:

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing → House of Commons: 32 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 18.8, +71%).

↳ Automobile retail → House of Commons: 8 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 2.8, +182%).

Notable organization → institution pairs this month:

↳ Automotive Industries Assoc... → House of Commons: 16 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 2.7, +500%).

↳ Canadian Vehicle Manufactur... → House of Commons: 6 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 3.2, +85%).

↳ Ford Motor Company of Canad... → Innovation, Science and Eco...: 6 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 3.3, +80%).

Section E: Industry and Organization Lobbying by Subject in the Past Month

All lobbying activity is tagged with a "subject matter". This section shows the industry-subject pairs with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month, defined by either unusually high or unusually low lobbying activity, and below it the organization-subject pairs with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month.

Industries → Subjects

Organizations → Subjects

Notable industry → subject pairs this month:

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing → Industry: 72 meetings (notable increase vs. avg 50.8, +42%).

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing → International Trade: 33 meetings (notable decline vs. avg 50, -34%).

Notable organization → subject pairs this month:

↳ Automotive Industries Assoc... → Industry: 24 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 3.5, +586%).

↳ Automotive Industries Assoc... → Privacy and Access to Infor...: 24 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 3.5, +586%).

↳ Westport Fuel Systems Canad... → Transportation: 11 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 4.2, +164%).

Section F: Last Month's Most Lobbied Politicians and Civil Servants

This section presents a list of the politicians and civil servants who took the most meetings with key industry players last month.

Most Lobbied Individuals by Sector

Most Lobbied Individuals by Organization

The most lobbied individual (by sector) was Motor vehicle manufacturing → Yasmin Atassi (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)) with 9 meetings this month (12-month avg: 3.3).

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing → Rhonda Kirkland (House of Commons): significant surge — 8 meetings vs. avg 1.8 (+357%).

↳ Motor vehicle manufacturing → Sima Acan (House of Commons): significant surge — 6 meetings vs. avg 1.3 (+350%).

The most lobbied individual (by organization) was FCA Canada Inc. → Jennifer McLean (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)) with 4 meetings this month (12-month avg: 1.2).

↳ Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association → Rhonda Kirkland (House of Commons): significant surge — 4 meetings vs. avg 0.6 (+586%).

↳ FCA Canada Inc. → Benoit Tessier (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)): significant surge — 3 meetings vs. avg 1.2 (+157%).