FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s government is proposing significant changes to its lobbying rules.

The Liberals introduced the changes in new legislation today.

Charles Murray, the province’s integrity commissioner, says the bill would allow New Brunswick to catch up to other jurisdictions in Canada.

Murray says if the bill is adopted it would expand the number of lobbyists required to register and report their activity by nearly 2,000.

The legislation also gives the commissioner new powers to impose fines for people who violate the rules.

There would also be monthly reporting requirements for lobbyists to report details of their meetings with government officials in an upgraded searchable database.

Murray says these changes, along with a new code of conduct he’ll create, will take a couple of years to get in place.

“And so we’re now kind of very much towards to, maybe not the forefront, but at least among the leading jurisdictions,” Murray told The Canadian Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 12, 2026.

Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press