Antitrust/Competition & Marketing 2007 Year In Review

More particularly, the Plaintiff had argued that the drip pricing provision in subsection 52(1.3) of the Competition Act requires “all-inclusive pricing” and forbids all forms of “fragmented or segmented pricing,” and that Ticketmaster’s partitioned price representations are thus prohibited as a criminal conduct and amount to false or misleading representations covered by the criminal misleading advertising provision in section 52

The Competition Bureau of Canada has entered into a consent agreement with Empire Company Limited, parent of major grocery chains including Sobeys and Safeway, restricting the company's use of property controls that limit competition. This agreement prohibits Empire from enforcing certain restrictive covenants and exclusivity clauses that prevent other grocers from operating nearby, despite Empire's earlier voluntary commitments. The Bureau's action signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of property control

This comprehensive guide examines the pre-merger notification requirements under Canada's Competition Act, providing essential information for parties considering transactions that may trigger mandatory filing obligations. The guide outlines the thresholds, procedures, and compliance considerations that businesses must navigate when planning mergers and acquisitions in the Canadian market.

Minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies have come under the Competition Bureau’s microscope. The Bureau announced on September 28, 2026, that it has launched an investigation into whether MAP policies in the grocery sector are limiting competition among grocers and keeping lower prices out of reach for consumers.

To address these concerns, Sherwin-Willaims is required under the consent agreement to sell Valspar's assets related to industrial wood coatings in Canada and the U.S. to Axalta Coating Systems Ltd....

Loblaw Companies Limited agreed to sell 18 retail stores and 9 pharmacies, as well as to abide by certain behavioural restrictions, in order to receive Competition Bureau approval of its acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation. Loblaw entered into a consent agreement with the Bureau on March 21, following the Bureau’s review of the proposed acquisition.

On September 24, 2026, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced it had entered into a consent agreement with Kalibrate Canada Inc. (Kalibrate) to address concerns regarding Kalibrate’s collection and distribution of detailed retail fuel data through its Kalibrate Market Intelligence product (KMI). More broadly, the matter signals the Bureau’s willingness to challenge information-sharing arrangements under multiple provisions of the Competition Act (Act), including through abuse of dominance where the intermediary itself is alleged to be dominant.

In today's enforcement climate, it is critical that businesses adopt and adhere to a competition law compliance policy that accords with the Competition Bureau's 2015 bulletin on Corporate Compliance Programs.

The September 2026 issue of Blakes Competitive Edge examines recent developments in Canadian competition and foreign investment law, including the Competition Bureau's application to block a major food industry acquisition and new national security reviews under the Investment Canada Act.

McKesson's other proposed acquisition of Uniprix will also be reviewed by the Bureau.

Effective September 8, 2026, Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. goods in response to the initial 50% tariffs imposed by the US under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. To operationalize these measures, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued Customs Notice 26-23, establishing binding administrative rules on how the surtax will be applied, calculated, and collected.

This Bulletin summarizes key regulatory developments impacting the payments sector in 2025 and looks ahead to 2026.

With Labour Day now behind us, Parliament Hill is gearing up for its September 21 return. Canada’s counter-tariffs on nearly $28 billion in American goods are now in force, and the United States has already escalated in response: President Trump has signed measures to ban certain Canadian alcohol, dairy-related products, molasses, non-alcoholic beer, motorcycles and mopeds from entering the U.S. market as of September 29, while modifying the list of Canadian goods subject to 50% tariffs effective September 15 and directing action to remove Canadian-origin products from U.S. government procurement schedules.

Under Order in Council 1358-2026, the Québec government authorizes, from September 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027, the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales (the “CAG”) to depart from the general principle that public calls for tenders must be open and without discrimination to foreign suppliers from jurisdictions bound by an intergovernmental agreement with Québec.

Canada has announced the imposition of new tariffs on US goods beginning on September 8, 2026. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs were introduced in response to US tariffs on Canadian goods that entered into force on August 22, 2026.

A regulatory shift now under consideration in Ontario could reshape how the province’s medical aesthetic clinics operate. The proposal, which would change how nurses are authorized to administer medical aesthetic services, invites a broader look at how Ontario currently regulates cosmetic injections and how the proposed changes would align the province more closely with the regulatory frameworks already in place elsewhere in Canada. While these procedures are often marketed as routine “spa” services, they remain medical acts that involve prescription products and carry clinical risks.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published its third quarterly release of the year on September 10, 2026, noting that the targeted adjustments made to its guidance were made with a view to supporting a resilient and competitive Canadian financial system.

On July 29, 2026, Health Canada announced that it had obtained a permanent injunction against a Québec-based company in connection with the sale of unauthorized injectable peptides in Canada. The announcement reflects Health Canada’s continued focus on peptide products and serves as a reminder that injectable peptides intended for human use are regulated as prescription drugs and are subject to Canada's drug regulatory framework.

The new framework effectively positions public drug and supplemental benefits plans as payers of last resort. Where a member is entitled to alternative coverage, that coverage must be accessed first, and the public plan will only pay in limited circumstances and only up to the unpaid portion of the claim.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, are increasingly used in Canada for commercial purposes such as infrastructure inspection, real estate photography, agriculture, filmmaking, mapping and resource exploration. Their advantages are clear: they are flexible, relatively inexpensive and capable of collecting information from angles and locations that would otherwise be difficult to access.