PR Firms and Lobbyists Gave Thousands to the UCP in 2025

The reintroduction of corporate political contributions in Alberta has created a new avenue of influence for lobbyists, an IJF data analysis suggests.

Last year, Alberta’s United Conservative Party government reversed a decade-long ban on corporations, unions and other associations donating to political parties.

The UCP received dozens of donations in 2025, totalling approximately $90,000, from public relations firms, consultant lobbyists and corporations that were also actively lobbying the Alberta government, according to data from Elections Alberta and the provincial lobbyist registry.

Money is “a source of major distortion” in politics, said Maxwell Cameron, a political science and public policy professor at the University of British Columbia.

And political parties taking money from groups intent on affecting government policy “almost by definition” puts politicians in a position of conflict of interest, he said.

“As soon as money is introduced into the equation, there is the very real risk that politicians will be perceived to be beholden to those interests,” Cameron said. “There is no question that when people give money to politicians or to parties, they do it because they want something in return. They want access. They want to be able to influence policy.”

Nine public relations firms gave money to the UCP in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, including Enterprise Canada, Navigator, Alberta Counsel and Guardian Public Affairs. At least 21 executives and consultant lobbyists who work for the firms also appear on both the list of party donors and in the registry of active lobbyists.

In several cases, the PR firm, its consultants and the corporation they were lobbying for all contributed to the province’s governing party.

Beacon AI Centres, also known as Beacon Data Centres, contributed $1,500 to the UCP between July and September. In addition to Beacon’s in-house lobbyists, the company also hired Navigator to lobby the government regarding its data centre project. Navigator and two of its consultants representing Beacon contributed more than $3,600 to the party before September 2025.

In October 2025, Alberta’s government made an exemption to foreign land ownership regulations to allow the majority U.S.-owned Beacon to buy 8.8 square kilometres for the construction of five data centres.

Enbridge is currently lobbying the government on a number of issues, including emissions reduction and a tax policy review of oil and gas properties. The company also contributed $1,145 to the UCP in 2025. Two public relations firms the company is employing to lobby the government, Alberta Counsel and Navigator, donated to the party. Lobbyists from Wellington Advocacy, which also represents Enbridge, and a numbered corporation registered to Wellington’s founder and CEO Nick Koolsbergen also contributed to the UCP.

Alberta’s Lobbyists Act prohibits any consultant lobbyist or organization lobbyist from giving an official any gift, promise or benefit in the course of their lobbying that “would place the public office holder in a conflict of interest.”

In 2023, Alberta’s government raised the limits on gifts officials can accept without ethics commissioner approval from $200 to $500, and increased the limit on event tickets that can be accepted without approval from $400 to $1,000.

An updated guide from the ethics commissioner on fees, gifts and benefits advises members of the legislative assembly that they “must be particularly careful when accepting gifts from lobbyists as lobbyists may have recent, current or anticipated matters before government, which is one of the factors the ethics commissioner will consider when determining the acceptability of a gift.”

However, contributions to political parties, campaigns or constituency associations aren’t subject to the same ethical scrutiny as gifts. And lobbyists or corporations that are actively lobbying government officials can give up to $5,000 per year, the same maximum for any individual or corporate donor in Alberta.

When Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Bill 54 in the 2025 spring legislative sitting, which made several changes to election laws along with funding rules, he said the aim of the legislation was to give Albertans confidence that “democratic processes are fair, consistent and transparent for all.” The Alberta NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir said at the time that the bill would have the opposite effect, weakening the province’s democracy by “bringing back dark money into our politics.”

A spokesperson for Amery’s office said that elected officials and political staff are subject to the Conflicts of Interest Act, and the ethics commissioner has the authority to investigate conflict-of-interest complaints.

“Public disclosure, strict contribution limits and conflict‑of‑interest laws exist specifically to protect decision‑making and maintain public confidence,” the spokesperson said.

Cameron said he finds it particularly concerning that well-connected sectors like the oil and gas industry in Alberta were able to use the contributions to politicians as a way of exercising influence, and that with sovereignty referendums on the horizon, introducing the influence of money into politics is “incredibly dangerous and unwise.”

“It does strike me as perhaps more than a coincidence that at the same time Danielle Smith introduces legislation that makes it easier for referendums to be held on topics like sovereignty, she is also changing the rules around public financing,” he said.

“And what it looks like to me is an agenda of Americanization of Canadian politics, and that is damaging to our Confederation.”