Elections Canada to Investigate Friends of Science

onFeb 17, 2008 @ 14:50 PST

DeSmogBlog Laid Complaint; CanWest sets out the Case

Responding to a complaint that DeSmogBlog manager Kevin Grandia submitted late last year, Elections Canada is reported to be on the trail of the energy industry front group Friends of Science (FOS).

The DeSmog complaint pointed to FOS‘s own materials in stating the case. It is the law in Canada that anyone who spends more than $500 on advocacy advertising during an election must register with elections Canada. FOS siphoned $200,000 through a University of Calgary trust fund (courtesy of Barry Cooper, inset), didn’t register, and boasted afterwards that they had helped swing key Ontario ridings to allow for the minority victory of Conservative party leader and current Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The first mainstream media coverage of this story appeared today in this very thorough Edmonton Journal story.

By Richard Littlemore

Q&A: This Comedy Series Is Taking Aim at Big Oil’s PR Machine

ByEllen Ormesher

onSep 14, 2026 @ 11:01 PDT

SLICK is a funny yet cutting satire of how the ad industry contributes to the climate crisis.

Series: Holding the Advertising and Public Relations Industry Accountable for Greenwash and Climate Misinformation

Series: Advertising & PR Industry

Analysis

Majority of Planned Alberta Data Centre Projects Could be Under Foreign Control

ByMitch Anderson

onSep 14, 2026 @ 07:05 PDT

DeSmog analysis finds less than one third of planned projects could have full Canadian control over data.

Carbon Capture Is Booming. So Is the Push to Shift Oversight to States

BySarah Hofmann

onSep 11, 2026 @ 10:36 PDT

As hundreds of CO2 storage wells move toward development, the EPA is handing more regulatory authority to states — despite concerns about safety and long-term liability.