Building On The Past, Not Breaking New Ground: Deconstructing The Bureau's Proposed Merger Enforcement Guidelines

On November 13, 2025, the Competition Bureau (the "Bureau") released the long-awaited draft of its Proposed Merger Enforcement Guidelines (the "Draft Guidelines"), marking the first substantial refresh to the current Merger Enforcement Guidelines (the "MEGs") that were published in 2011. The Draft Guidelines primarily reflect feedback received during the Bureau's November 2024 consultation and will be finalized after a second consultation process that runs until February 11, 2026.

As the Bureau's primary guidance document on merger reviews under the Competition Act (the "Act"), the Draft Guidelines have been highly anticipated since significant amendments to the Act's merger review regime came into effect almost a year-and-a-half ago. While the Draft Guidelines look different in form, many aspects remain substantively consistent with the Bureau's existing MEGs, implying that, while evidence on market structure (in the form of market shares or other