How GovTrace Works
Search a name and instantly see how money and influence flow through Canadian federal government records.
Where the Data Comes From
Elections Canada
Political donation records including donor names, amounts, recipients, and dates. Covers contributions to federal parties, candidates, and riding associations.
Federal Contracts
Government contracts awarded to companies and organizations. Includes vendor names, contract values, departments, and descriptions of work.
Federal Grants
Grants and contributions awarded by federal departments. Shows recipient organizations, amounts, program names, and purposes.
Lobbyist Registrations
Registered lobbyists and their clients. Shows who is lobbying the federal government, on behalf of which organizations, and on what subjects.
Lobbyist Communications
Records of communication between registered lobbyists and designated public office holders. Shows who met with whom and when.
How to Use GovTrace
Search a Name
Type any name into the search bar: a politician, company, or person. GovTrace searches across all government datasets instantly.
See Their Connections
View donations, contracts, grants, and lobbying activity all in one place. Every record links back to the original government source.
Understand the Money Trail
Interactive visualizations show you the flow: who donated to whom, which companies got contracts, and how lobbying connects to spending.
How AI Helps (and What It Doesn’t Do)
What AI Does
- Match the same person or company across different datasets (e.g. finding "CGI Inc." in contracts and "CGI Group" in lobbying records)
- Write plain-language summaries from government statistics so anyone can understand the data
What AI Doesn’t Do
- Make accusations or allegations of wrongdoing
- Add editorial judgment or opinion
- Speculate about intent or motivation
- Use any information beyond public government records
Confidence Scores
Every AI match shows a confidence badge so you can see how certain the system is. Higher scores mean stronger evidence across multiple datasets.
Connections shown in GovTrace do not imply wrongdoing. All data is sourced from public government datasets under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to explore?
Try searching a name