Competition/Antitrust & Foreign Investment Outlook 2022

In 2021, the competition and foreign investment law landscape in Canada underwent significant developments that could have major implications for businesses moving forward. For the first time in many years, there are signs that a substantive debate on reform of the Competition Act may be generating momentum, while the Competition Bureau (the "Bureau") continued to focus on enforcement in the digital economy, which is only expected to intensify moving forward as the Bureau receives greater financial resources in the coming years. While the absolute number of mergers notified to the Bureau has remained fairly consistent with last year, the Bureau is taking an increasingly tough stance on problematic mergers, and transacting parties need to be prepared for a more litigation-ready Bureau in 2022 and beyond. Allied to this, the codification of changes to the government's Guidelines on National Security Review of Investments has continued to bring high levels of