Who lobbies Windsor-Essex MPs? Auto groups top the list

Who lobbies Windsor-Essex MPs? Since the 2025 election, lobbyists reported 77 meetings or calls with Essex MP Chris Lewis, 69 with Kathy Borrelli and 60 with Harb Gill. Car dealers' and automakers' groups top every list.

Topics: Election 2026

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Registered lobbyists must file a monthly communication report with the federal Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying each time they have an arranged oral meeting or call with a designated public office holder, a group that includes every MP. We counted the reports naming each Windsor-Essex MP in the commissioner's open data, which runs to Oct. 16, 2026.

The MPs

All four were elected on April 28, 2025, according to Elections Canada and the House of Commons:

Chris Lewis, Essex: 77 reports, from 43 organizations

Kathy Borrelli, Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore: 69 reports, from 44 organizations

Harb Gill, Windsor West: 60 reports, from 37 organizations

Dave Epp, Chatham-Kent-Leamington: 141 reports, from 86 organizations. His riding includes Leamington and Pelee Island.

Who asked for the meetings

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association was the most frequent client on all four lists: 9 reports for Lewis, 7 each for Borrelli, Gill and Epp. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association was next for Borrelli and Gill (5 each) and tied with the dealers for Epp (7).

Car dealers, automakers and their industry groups (the two associations, Global Automakers of Canada, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Kia) account for 39 of Lewis's 77 reports, 27 of Borrelli's 69, 24 of Gill's 60 and 27 of Epp's 141. Farm groups, including the Canadian Cattle Association and Dairy Farmers of Ontario, show up often on Epp's list.

Keep in mind

Lobbyists file these reports; MPs do not. A report shows that a meeting or call took place and which client it was for. It does not show what was said, or what the MP thought or did. Written messages are not reported, and neither are most meetings an MP's office asks for. One meeting can name several MPs, so the four totals overlap. Lobbyists have 15 days after the end of each month to report, so the counts for September and October may still rise.

We left out two reports that list a "Chris Lewis" as a policy advisor at a federal department, not as the MP. Three reports spell Harb Gill's first name as Harbinder or Harbinger; they name the Windsor West MP and are counted.