Consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada

Current status: Closed

The public submission period closed on March 31, 2023.

Effective and up-to-date competition law and enforcement are necessary to promote a competitive marketplace that favours prosperity and affordability for Canadians. The Competition Act plays a critical role in protecting consumers and promoting dynamic and fair markets that benefit consumers, businesses and workers alike.

In February 2022, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced his intention to undertake a review of the Act, beginning with immediate, targeted improvements, followed by further consultations to consider broader changes.

Modernizing competition law

Several amendments to the Act, introduced in the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No 1, came into force with royal assent in June 2022, as a first step to modernizing the Competition Act. Now, the Government of Canada is undertaking further consultation to canvass Canadians for their views on the future of the Act and its enforcement, potentially leading to further measures to update Canada's competition law and policy framework for the modern economy.

Consultation purpose

The Government of Canada welcomes your perspective and comments on a wide range of issues, including how to ensure the law and its provisions remain effective in serving our national interest, and how to improve or protect competition in emerging data and digital markets. These ideas are outlined in:

The purpose of this consultation is to help inform the government's next steps, including potential legislative changes.

Submissions

The public submission period closed on March 31, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact us at competition-consultation-concurrence@ised-isde.gc.ca. Thank you.

Report

The Government released a report that summarizes the feedback received and raises some considerations around what was heard from stakeholders.

Next steps

On September 14, 2023, the Government announced that it intends to introduce a first set of legislative amendments to the Competition Act to:

  • provide the Competition Bureau with powers to compel the production of information to conduct effective and complete market studies;
  • remove the efficiencies defence, which currently allows anti-competitive mergers to survive challenges if corporate efficiencies offset the harm to competition, even when Canadian consumers would pay higher prices and have fewer choices; and
  • empower the Bureau to take action against collaborations that stifle competition and consumer choice, in particular situations where large grocers prevent smaller competitors from establishing operations nearby.