June 25, 2025
OVERVIEW OF JUNE 2024 AMENDMENTS
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed (the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023), which introduced the third of three significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act in two years (together with Bill C-19 and Bill C-56). For more information, see: Competition Act Amendments.
The June 2024 round of amendments to the Competition Act completed a sweeping overhaul of the Competition Act across virtually all key provisions of Canada’s competition legislation. These amendments were also the most significant changes to Canadian competition law since the modern Competition Act came into effect in 1986 replacing the former Combines Investigation Act.
The Bill C-59 amendments, among other things, strengthened the Competition Bureau’s powers to enforce key deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act (e.g., relating to drip pricing, performance claims and ordinary selling price (OSP) claims), strengthened private party rights to seek Competition Tribunal remedies (e.g., for civil deceptive marketing and violations of the civil agreements provisions of the Act), introduced new penalties (e.g., administrative monetary penalties for violating the civil agreements provisions of the Act and for reprisal actions penalizing individuals for complying with the Act) and introduced a new clearance regime for environmental protection related agreements.
EXPANDED PRIVATE ACCESS RIGHTS
TO THE CANADIAN COMPETITION TRIBUNAL
As a result of the above amendments, as of June 20, 2025, following a one-year transition period, private parties are now able to commence private access applications under sections 90.1 (the civil agreements provision) and 74.1 (for civil deceptive marketing matters under Part VII.1 of the Competition Act). Previously, only the Competition Bureau could commence enforcement under these provisions of the Competition Act.
These expanded private access rights are in addition to existing private action rights (proceedings before the courts under section 36 of the Competition Act) and private access rights (applications commenced before the Competition Tribunal). For more information, see: Competition Bureau Enforcement.
June 5, 2025
OVERVIEW OF JUNE 20, 2024
COMPETITION ACT AMENDMENTS
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed (the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023), which introduced the third of three significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act in two years (together with Bill C-19 and Bill C-56). For more information, see: Competition Act Amendments.
The June 2024 round of amendments to the Competition Act completed a sweeping overhaul of the Competition Act across virtually all key provisions of Canada’s competition legislation. These amendments were also the most significant changes to Canadian competition law since the modern Competition Act came into effect in 1986 replacing the former Combines Investigation Act.
The Bill C-59 amendments, among other things, strengthened the Competition Bureau’s powers to enforce key deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act (e.g., relating to drip pricing, performance claims and ordinary selling price (OSP) claims), strengthened private party rights to seek Competition Tribunal remedies (e.g., for civil deceptive marketing and violations of the civil agreements provisions of the Act), introduced new penalties (e.g., administrative monetary penalties for violating the civil agreements provisions of the Act and for reprisal actions penalizing individuals for complying with the Act) and introduced a new clearance regime for environmental protection related agreements.
OVERVIEW OF THE NEW
ENVIRONMENT-RELATED PERFORMANCE CLAIMS
PROVISIONS UNDER THE COMPETITION ACT
In addition to the above amendments passed on June 20, 2024, two specific new environment-related performance claims provisions were added to Canada’s Competition Act relating to product-related environmental claims (section 74.01(1)(b.1)) and business-related environmental claims (section 74.01(1)(b.2)) (discussed in more detail below).
These two new environment-related performance claim provisions were added to the already existing general standalone civil provision of the Competition Act that prohibits product performance claims that are not based on an “adequate and proper test” (section 74.01(1)(b)). In this regard, the Competition Act prohibits representations made to the public, in the form of a statement, warranty or guarantee, of the performance, efficacy or length of life of a product that is not based on an adequate and proper test, the proof of which lies on the person making the claim.
For more information about performance claims under Canada’s Competition Act, see: Performance Claims.
October 7, 2024
On September 23, 2024, Canada’s Competition Bureau announced that the federal Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) had found that Cineplex Inc. (Cineplex), a Canadian theatre chain, had engaged in drip pricing by adding a mandatory and insufficiently disclosed $1.50 online booking fee for the online sale of movie tickets (see: Competition Bureau wins deceptive marketing case against Cineplex)
The Tribunal ordered Cineplex to pay an administrative monetary penalty of more than $38.9 million and legal costs. This penalty is equivalent to the amount that Cineplex collected from theatre consumers from the time of the introduction of its online booking fee from June 2022 until December 2023.
In making its announcement, the Competition Bureau said:
“The Tribunal’s decision in the Cineplex case is a resounding win for Canadians. It sends a strong message that businesses should not engage in drip pricing and need to display their full prices upfront. Businesses that fail to comply with the law risk significant financial penalties.”
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
