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 Higher Ed 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 252 meetings in February 2026, compared to a 12-month average of 207.9 (+21%). This represents a notable increase.

Universities, colleges and research institutes experienced a notable increase in lobbying activity — 225 meetings vs. a 12-month average of 166.4 (+35%).

Science and engineering research saw a significant decline in lobbying activity — 8 meetings vs. a 12-month average of 24.7 (-68%).

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

Universities, colleges and research institutes ended February 2026 with a residual of +20.5, well above its expected trend.

↳ Universities, colleges and research institutes has shown a broadly upward trend in lobbying residuals over the past year.

↳ Universities, colleges and research institutes displayed high volatility in its lobbying pattern, suggesting irregular or event-driven activity.

↳ Science and engineering research has shown a broadly upward trend in lobbying residuals over the past year.

↳ Science and engineering research displayed high volatility in its lobbying pattern, suggesting irregular or event-driven activity.

↳ Educational services has shown a broadly upward trend in lobbying residuals over the past year.

↳ Educational services 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: University of Saskatchewan, British Columbia Institute of Technology, University of Alberta.

↳ University of Saskatchewan: 22 meetings vs. 5.5 average (+300%).

↳ British Columbia Institute of Technology: 19 meetings vs. 3.6 average (+430%).

↳ University of Alberta: 22 meetings vs. 10.2 average (+116%).

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:

↳ Universities, colleges and ... → House of Commons: 71 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 37.2, +91%).

↳ Universities, colleges and ... → Privy Council Office (PCO): 14 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 4.7, +200%).

Notable organization → institution pairs this month:

↳ British Columbia Institute ... → House of Commons: 11 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 1.6, +595%).

↳ University of Alberta → Privy Council Office (PCO): 8 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 1, +700%).

↳ Toronto Metropolitan Univer... → House of Commons: 7 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 1, +600%).

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:

↳ Universities, colleges and ... → Research and Development: 137 meetings (notable increase vs. avg 108.2, +27%).

↳ Universities, colleges and ... → Science and Technology: 116 meetings (notable increase vs. avg 92.6, +25%).

↳ Universities, colleges and ... → Education: 105 meetings (notable increase vs. avg 76.3, +38%).

Notable organization → subject pairs this month:

↳ Dairy Farmers of Manitoba → Research and Development: 25 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 2.2, +1011%).

↳ Canadian Medical Association → Employment and Training: 22 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 10.1, +118%).

↳ University of Saskatchewan → Research and Development: 22 meetings (significant surge vs. avg 5.4, +306%).

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 Universities, colleges and research institutes → Wade Chang (House of Commons) with 7 meetings this month (12-month avg: 1.3).

↳ Universities, colleges and research institutes → Michael Paramathasan (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)): significant surge — 5 meetings vs. avg 0.8 (+567%).

↳ Universities, colleges and research institutes → Manuel Tomic (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)): significant surge — 5 meetings vs. avg 3.2 (+54%).

The most lobbied individual (by organization) was British Columbia Institute of Technology → Wade Chang (House of Commons) with 7 meetings this month (12-month avg: 1).

↳ University of Alberta → Alison O'Leary (Privy Council Office (PCO)): significant surge — 3 meetings vs. avg 0.2 (+1100%).

↳ British Columbia Institute of Technology → Noemie Fiset-Tremblay (Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)): significant surge — 3 meetings vs. avg 0.3 (+800%).