The Public Register: promises, dates and owners

Where the register stands

Current counts (promises entered, scored PASS or FAILED, open, due and replaced) are on the main register page, which is rebuilt from the register's data file at every update.

Ten to watch

The ten promises with the most riding on them, with who owns each and when it is scored. Where each stands today is on the main register page.

1. Global Affairs Canada or the Prime Minister's Office announces that Canada-Philippines free trade agreement negotiations concluded on or before 19 Nov 2026. Owner: Prime Minister (PMO) / Global Affairs Canada. Scored: 2026-11-20.
2. The Government of Canada or Canada Post publishes a dated repayment schedule, or revised terms with dates, for the $2.042 billion in repayable funding to Canada Post. Owner: Minister of Finance; PSPC; Canada Post. Scored: 2026-12-31.
3. At least one energy or minerals corridor gets two independent signed commitments of money or buyers. Owner: Government of Canada (PMO / MPO) and corridor proponents. Scored: 2027-01-01.
4. The Bill C-39 legislative committee moves an amendment writing a consequence for day 366 of the one year clock in s. 65(10): a deemed decision, automatic referral to a named decision maker with its own fixed date, or a permanent published failure entry. Owner: Legislative Committee on Bill C-39 (Chair James Maloney). Scored: 2026-11-27.
5. Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, receives Royal Assent by Fri 11 Dec 2026, the last scheduled House sitting day before the winter break. Owner: Parliament / Government House Leader. Scored: 2026-12-11.
6. Ottawa lists the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 in Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act, or refuses them, by a Gazette order or a dated refusal. The 2 November decision promised for the highway was not made (scored FAILED 4 Nov 2026). Owner: Privy Council (Governor in Council) / Major Projects Office. Scored: 2026-12-31.
7. Ksi Lisims LNG or its partners (Western LNG, Rockies LNG, Nisga'a Lisims Government) publicly announce a positive final investment decision on or before 31 Dec 2026. Owner: Ksi Lisims LNG / Nisga'a Lisims Government. Scored: 2026-12-31.
8. The US 50 per cent tariff on Canadian cars, trucks, parts and steel takes effect, or a published deal averts it, by 1 Jan 2027. Scored as fact, not a desk win. Owner: US Administration / Canada. Scored: 2027-01-01.
9. The Productivity Mega Deduction is put in the Act: Royal Assent with the class list. Owner: Finance Canada; Parliament. Scored: 2026-12-31.
10. Bill C-37, the First Nations Clean Water Act, is reported from committee and receives Royal Assent on or before 31 Mar 2027. Owner: Minister of Indigenous Services (Mandy Gull-Masty). Scored: 2027-03-31.

What this is

Governments make promises every week, and most are never checked. This register writes each promise down in a fixed form: what was promised, the date by which it should happen, and the person or body responsible. On that date the promise is checked against public documents and the result is recorded as passed or failed. Nothing is quietly dropped, and nothing is rewritten after the fact. The aim is simple: to give citizens back the ability to see whether their government did what it said it would do.

The register is kept by Barry Sharp's Sovereign Realism desk. The desk applies the same rules to its own commitments, and it scores itself first.

How it works

1. Every promise has three parts. An outcome (what must be true for a pass), a date (the day it is checked) and an owner (who is accountable). If any of the three is missing, it is not a row.
2. Every row has a fixed scoring date. The date is set when the row is entered and is not extended. On that date the row gets a recorded PASS or a dated FAILED.
3. A failure is written up. A FAILED result gets a dated entry naming where the promise got stuck and, where it can be sourced, what the failure cost. It is published within 30 days.
4. The record is permanent. A result is filled in once. If a result turns out to be wrong, or a government reverses itself, the original line stays and a new dated line is added below it that records the correction and its cost. Nothing already written is changed or erased.
5. Rows stay open until they are scored. No row is retired or forgotten. Only a recorded PASS or FAILED closes it.
6. Each resolved promise also gets three grades. Hype (did the announcement match what was delivered?), means (were the tools and money actually put in place?) and cost (what did it cost compared with what was claimed?). Each is graded MATCHED, MIXED, FAILED or OPEN, with links. These grades are filled in only after a row is resolved, and they never change the pass or fail.
7. A yearly state of the files. Every January (the first is due 3 January 2027) the register publishes a full reading of what passed, what failed and what is still open.

How to read a row

• ID is a short reference code so a row can be cited. It carries no meaning on its own.
• Test is the claim being tested, in the register's words, with the full pass test.
• Owner is the person or body the register holds accountable. Owners are the register's designation, not a claim of fact about who is legally responsible. Where the file says an owner is unverified, the row says so.
• Scoring date is the day the row is checked, copied from the file. Some rows are checked on an event (for example Royal Assent) or have no fixed date yet.
• Status is copied from the file. LIVE, LOCKED, CONFIRMED and ENTERED all mean the row is open and waiting for its scoring date; LOCKED means the wording and date are fixed.
• Source is a primary source link where the file gives one. A blank means the file gives no link for that row; it does not mean there is no source.
• A scoring date already in the past with an open status means the check is due and the result has not yet been confirmed from the official record.

Common abbreviations: PMO (Prime Minister's Office), GAC (Global Affairs Canada), DND (National Defence), IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), NRCan (Natural Resources Canada), ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada), ISED (Innovation, Science and Economic Development), TBS (Treasury Board Secretariat), MPO (Major Projects Office), CER (Canada Energy Regulator), SCC (Supreme Court of Canada), FID (final investment decision), PR (permanent resident), NPR (non-permanent residents), EU (European Union), UK (United Kingdom).

The rows

Every entry, with its test, owner, scoring date and current status, is on the main register page, where it can be searched and filtered.

Possible overlaps under review

Pairs of entries that may test the same thing are listed on the main register page. Both entries in each pair are kept while the overlap is under review.

Back to the full register