Who gets a seat at the committee table?
Since May 2025, 3,416 people have testified at 906 standing-committee meetings. Outside government, Macdonald-Laurier Institute appeared most: 15 meetings, mainly before Environment and Sustainable Development.
Committees choose their witnesses: a seat at the table is a chance to shape a bill or a study on the record. Lobbying is the private channel; this is the public one, and the two often overlap. Departments and agencies, who appear because it is their job, are listed separately below. Method at the bottom.
Outside government
| # | Organization | Meetings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macdonald-Laurier Institute | 15 |
| 2 | Assembly of First Nations | 14 |
| 3 | The Transition Accelerator | 13 |
| 4 | Canadian Cattle Association | 11 |
| 5 | Vale Base Metals Canada | 11 |
| 6 | Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association | 10 |
| 7 | Canadian Chamber of Commerce | 9 |
| 8 | Canadian Meat Council | 9 |
| 9 | Canadian Pork Council | 9 |
| 10 | Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project | 9 |
| 11 | National Police Federation | 9 |
| 12 | Solace Power Inc. | 8 |
| 13 | Canadian Federation of Independent Business | 7 |
| 14 | Unifor | 7 |
| 15 | The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy | 7 |
| 16 | Federation of Canadian Municipalities | 6 |
| 17 | Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec | 6 |
| 18 | Parks Canada Agency | 6 |
| 19 | C.D. Howe Institute | 6 |
| 20 | Clean Energy Canada | 6 |
| 21 | Montreal Economic Institute | 6 |
| 22 | Electricity Canada | 6 |
| 23 | Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights | 6 |
| 24 | U15 Canada | 6 |
| 25 | Canadian Federation of Agriculture | 5 |
| 26 | Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada | 5 |
| 27 | Public Service Alliance of Canada | 5 |
| 28 | Union des producteurs agricoles | 5 |
| 29 | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | 5 |
| 30 | Council of Canadian Innovators | 5 |
| 31 | Canadian Automobile Dealers Association | 5 |
| 32 | Global Automakers of Canada | 5 |
| 33 | Justice for Truck Drivers | 5 |
| 34 | Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne | 5 |
| 35 | Electric Mobility Canada | 5 |
| 36 | Canadian Bankers Association | 4 |
| 37 | The Canadian Bar Association | 4 |
| 38 | Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police | 4 |
| 39 | Canadian Canola Growers Association | 4 |
| 40 | Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada | 4 |
| 41 | Pembina Institute | 4 |
| 42 | Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale | 4 |
| 43 | Association des producteurs maraîchers du Québec | 4 |
| 44 | Canadian Constitution Foundation | 4 |
| 45 | Innovative Medicines Canada | 4 |
| 46 | Agri-Food Analytics Lab | 4 |
| 47 | Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada | 4 |
| 48 | Centre for International Governance Innovation | 4 |
| 49 | Forest Products Association of Canada | 4 |
| 50 | Hupaco Wood Products | 4 |
Departments, agencies and officers of Parliament
Officials appear when a committee studies their estimates, their bills or their files. Ranked apart so they do not crowd out the outside voices above.
| # | Institution | Meetings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development | 41 |
| 2 | Department of Justice | 39 |
| 3 | Office of the Auditor General | 38 |
| 4 | Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness | 38 |
| 5 | Department of Industry | 32 |
| 6 | Department of National Defence | 31 |
| 7 | Canada Border Services Agency | 31 |
| 8 | Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 28 |
| 9 | Department of Finance | 27 |
| 10 | Treasury Board Secretariat | 25 |
| 11 | Department of Citizenship and Immigration | 23 |
| 12 | Department of the Environment | 22 |
| 13 | Canadian Food Inspection Agency | 20 |
| 14 | Department of Public Works and Government Services | 19 |
| 15 | Department of Employment and Social Development | 18 |
How this is counted
- One meeting, one appearance. An organization that sends three people to one meeting counts once. “People” is how many different witnesses it has sent this Parliament.
- Standing committees of the House only, 45th Parliament, from the House's own witness lists. Special, legislative and joint committees, and the Senate, are not searched. Witnesses appearing “as an individual” count toward meeting totals but have no organization row.
- Government is split out by name: departments, agencies, Crown corporations and officers of Parliament go in the second table. Universities, unions, companies and associations are “outside government” even when publicly funded.
- Names are the House's. The same organization can appear under two spellings; we do not merge them. Where the name matches an organization in the lobbying registry, it links to that page.
- Source: House of Commons, committee witness search. Newest meeting on file: October 8, 2026. See data status.