Access to information and freedom of information (FOI) laws allow citizens to request records held by public bodies, including governments. FOI legislation is founded on the idea that Canadian citizens have the right to know what their governments are doing, and to hold them accountable for it.

That premise is under strain. Since 2024, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario have introduced new legislation that gives public bodies more room to withhold, delay or dismiss records requests. Ottawa is now weighing changes of its own.

At the core of each of these changes is an increase in the discretion afforded to government agencies. This discretion allows for exemptions of information for certain individuals and lets government agencies delay and deny requests.

These changes will have a major impact on government transparency in Canada by making it harder for journalists to do investigative work, activists to confront state power and citizens to hold governments to account.

Alberta was the first province to pass its updated legislation. Bill 34, the Access to Information Act, received royal assent on Dec. 5, 2024, and came into force on June 11, 2025, replacing the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Alberta’s government framed the bill as fixing “outdated” legislation from a pre-digital era.

The new legislation created a new category of “political staff” whose communications with cabinet ministers are now exempt from disclosure. What constitutes political staff is not clearly defined, meaning it could theoretically extend to administrative personnel or even janitorial........

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