August 17, 2025
On August 14, 2025, Canada’s federal Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that it had issued new guidance for companies and others to develop competition law compliance programs (see: “Develop a compliance program for your business in 10 easy steps!”).
In general, the Bureau has published on its Compliance Bootcamp web page videos describing competition law compliance programs, its recommended ten steps to develop a credible and effective compliance program and recommendations to comply with many of the core criminal and civil provisions of the Competition Act including abuse of dominance (sections 78 and 79), bid-rigging (section 47), deceptive marketing (under Parts VI and VII.1), exclusive dealing / tied selling / market restriction (section 77), mergers (Parts VIII and IX), price-fixing (section 45), refusal to deal (section 75), price maintenance (section 76) and wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements (section 45(1.1)).
The Bureau’s Compliance Bootcamp videos are part of its overall competition law compliance guidance, which includes the Compliance Hub (which is the Bureau’s key resource that sets out its recommendations for credible and effective competition law compliance programs in Canada).
The Bureau’s competition law compliance guidance also includes related compliance quizzes, some of its previous key compliance guidance and core related Enforcement Guidelines.
Some of the specific topics that the Bureau discusses in its Compliance Bootcamp compliance videos include the following:
Deceptive Marketing
– General false or misleading claims
– Online marketing claims
– The general impression test
– Disclaimers
– Performance claims and adequate and proper testing
– Influencer marketing
– Third-party liability for deceptive marketing claims
– Online reviews and testimonials
– Drip pricing
– Ordinary selling price and sale claims
– Fines and penalties for deceptive marketing
– Competition law compliance programs
Bid-Rigging
– Common types of bid-rigging (bid rotation, cover bidding, bid suppression and market division)
– How bid-rigging agreements can be formed
– Practices to detect and avoid bid-rigging
– Bureau criminal investigations
– The Bureau’s Immunity and Leniency Programs
– Fines and penalties for bid-rigging
– Competition law compliance programs
Price-Fixing
– Types of price-fixing agreements
– How price-fixing agreements can be formed
– Practices to avoid price-fixing
– Competition Bureau investigations
– Wire taps and search warrants
– The Bureau’s Immunity and Leniency Programs
– Fines and penalties for price-fixing
– Competition law compliance programs
Abuse of Dominance
– Types of abusive conduct (e.g., predatory pricing and exclusionary and disciplinary conduct)
– Anti-competitive effects of abuse of dominance
– Penalties for abuse of dominance
– Competition Bureau complaints
– The Toronto Real Estate Board abuse of dominance case
Wage-fixing and No-poaching Agreements
– Definitions of wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements
– Anti-competitive effects of wage-fixing/no-poaching agreements
– Fines and penalties for wage-fixing/no-poaching agreements
– The Bureau’s Immunity and Leniency Programs
– Competition law compliance programs
– Competition Bureau complaints
For more information, about competition law compliance in Canada, see: Compliance and Association Compliance.
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We are a Toronto based competition and advertising law firm offering business and individual clients efficient and strategic advice in relation to competition/antitrust, advertising, Internet and new media law and contest law. We also offer competition and regulatory law compliance, education and policy services to companies, trade and professional associations and government agencies.
Our experience includes advising clients in Toronto, Canada and the United States on the application of Canadian competition and regulatory laws and we have worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition, advertising and marketing, promotional contest (sweepstakes), conspiracy (cartel), abuse of dominance, compliance, refusal to deal and pricing and distribution matters. For more information about our competition and advertising law services see: competition law services.
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For more information about our firm, visit our website: Competitionlawyer.ca
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