Former Ontario premier Mike Harris has registered to lobby the provincial government while his son serves as a cabinet minister.

The elder Harris is registered to lobby Ontario’s minister of finance on behalf of the Independent Order of Foresters, according to an entry added to the IJF’s databases earlier this month. Harris’s son, Mike Harris Jr., currently serves as the provincial natural resources minister, but is not named as a target of his father’s lobbying.

The IJF reached Harris Sr. by phone from Florida, where the former premier said he was on holiday. He declined to answer questions about the subject outlined in the registration, but said he hasn’t communicated with anyone in government about it.

“I don't think I've done any lobbying,” he said.

Asked if he thought his political and family connections would help with this work, Harris answered, “I don’t.”

The Independent Order of Foresters, which operates as Foresters Financial, describes itself as “a fraternal benefit society that provides financial services products and unique benefits to its members and their families.” Its central financial product is life insurance.

Foresters’ registration says it wants to engage with “Ontario government stakeholders regarding the impact of the global minimum tax” enacted by certain members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The global minimum tax was developed as a way to discourage multinational corporations from shifting their operations to countries with lower taxes. The minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent on profits applies to groups of companies with at least 750 million euros — or about C$1.2 billion — in annual revenue.

Canada’s tax was enacted in June 2024, and as of the end of 2025, Foresters owed a total of $28,452, according to its financial statements.

Foresters spokesperson Melanie Gaskin told the IJF the organization is advocating for the province’s support in seeking an exemption from the tax as a non-profit.

“Mike Harris is engaged in the narrow mandate of assisting Foresters arrange for and participate in a meeting with the Ontario minister of finance,” Gaskin wrote in an email.

Mike Harris Sr. had a two-decade career in Ontario politics with the Progressive Conservative Party, and served as premier from 1995 to 2002 under the banner of a “Common Sense Revolution.” He now works as a senior business adviser for the Fasken law firm, and is a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.

His son, Mike Harris Jr., has been a Progressive Conservative MPP since 2018 and was minister of red tape reduction before being named to the natural resources portfolio.

Ontario’s Ministry of Finance did not respond to a request for comment.

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