Lobbying registry logs over 30 entries between Nate Horner’s ministry and cousin’s firm
Smith tasked Finance Minister Nate Horner with insurance overhaul as lobbyist records show over 30 registrations involving his cousin, former minister Doug Horner.
As Premier Danielle Smith tasked Finance Minister Nate Horner with overseeing a major overhaul to Alberta’s auto and property insurance, the provincial lobbyist registry shows over thirty registrations with firms involving his cousin and former cabinet minister, Doug Horner.
Doug Horner, who served as Progressive Conservative finance minister from 2011 to 2014, is listed as a lobbyist in 41 of 42 active registrations tied to firms P3 Capital Partners Inc. and Integrated Strategic Partners. On 14 occasions, he is named as the designated filer.
According to the registry, the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance was lobbied by Doug Horner 33 times between January 1, 2025 and October 2, 2025, making it the most frequently targeted department in the filings where he is listed.
The Premier’s Office (32) and Executive Council (25) followed closely behind. Lobbying registrations show multiple bodies in a single filing. The registration does not imply Doug Horner met with the minister himself, and True North could not confirm the specific circumstances of the lobbying. Doug Horner is a registered lobbyist with the Alberta government.
The records show Doug Horner and his colleagues registered to lobby on files spanning health care, post-secondary education, forestry, infrastructure, and housing. Subject matters range from “Health” and “K-12 Education” to “Budget, Health, Infrastructure, Seniors issues.”
On February 24, 2025, Doug Horner was named as a lobbyist in a registration for a provincial entity. The lobbying efforts included engaging with the Ministry of Finance on the subject of “insurance.”
The Alberta Lobbyists Act requires consultant and organization lobbyists to register and disclose the government departments they target, the subject matter of their lobbying, and the clients they represent.
The law also prohibits lobbyists from engaging in certain practices, including lobbying while simultaneously holding a paid contract to provide advice to government, receiving contingency payments tied to lobbying outcomes, or offering gifts and benefits to public office holders that could create a conflict of interest.
Notably, the Act does not prohibit relatives of cabinet ministers from lobbying. There are no provisions addressing family relationships, meaning Doug Horner’s activities are permitted so long as they comply with the disclosure and prohibition requirements.
The registry also reveals that most of his lobbying activity was through Integrated Strategic Partners, which accounts for 30 registrations. Another 13 were filed through P3 Capital Partners, while one was filed through Timber Wolf Investments.
Doug Horner did not appear as a lobbyist in just one case — an Apr. 2, 2025 registration for the College of Alberta School Superintendents. In that instance, he was the designated filer, but the listed lobbyists were Jeff Johnson and Monica Barclay.
True North reached out to the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance, both involved firms, the Office of the Ethics Commissioner of Alberta, and the Alberta Lobbyist Registry.
The inquiries focused on several key areas: whether Doug Horner personally attended meetings with the ministry, the identities of attendees if he was absent, any ethics disclosures made by Finance Minister Nate Horner, and the existing regulations governing lobbying activities by relatives of cabinet ministers.
None responded by publication time.