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ARTICLE · 05 MARCH 2026

Canadian Competition Law Outlook 2026: From Reform To Reality

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

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Competition law in Canada is in the midst of a once‑in‑a‑generation reset. With three consecutive reform waves in 2022, 2023 and 2024...

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Competition Law Reset: What 2026 Holds for Business in Canada

Competition law in Canada is in the midst of a once‑in‑a‑generation reset. With three consecutive reform waves in 2022, 2023 and 2024, Parliament has significantly overhauled the Competition Act (Act) — a modernization effort that includes addressing digital‑economy dynamics and affordability concerns.

These recent amendments have broad implications for how businesses operate in Canada, including significant changes to merger review following the elimination of the efficiencies defence, the introduction of a rebuttable structural presumption deeming mergers to be anti-competitive solely based on concentration or market share, the revision of merger notification rules to subject more transactions to mandatory pre-merger notification, and the extension of the look-back period for the Competition Bureau (Bureau) to challenge non-notified mergers to three years (versus one year for notified mergers)

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