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ARTICLE · 30 JUNE 2025

Competition Bureau Releases Updated Guidance On Enforcement Approach To Property Controls

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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On June 4, 2025, the Competition Bureau (the Bureau) published its finalized guidance, Competitor Property Controls and the Competition Act (the CPC Guidance), regarding the application of the Competition Act (the Act) to competitor property controls.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Shuli Rodal
Shuli Rodal
Michelle Lally
Michelle Lally
David Dueck
David Dueck
Kaeleigh Kuzma
Kaeleigh Kuzma
Savvas Kotsopoulos
Savvas Kotsopoulos
Julia Villeneuve
Julia Villeneuve
Zach Rudge
Zach Rudge
Daniel Minuk
Daniel Minuk
Valeska Rebello
Valeska Rebello
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On June 4, 2025, the Competition Bureau (the Bureau) published its finalized guidance, Competitor Property Controls and the Competition Act (the CPC Guidance), regarding the application of the Competition Act (the Act) to competitor property controls. Competitor property controls (notably, exclusivity clauses and restrictive covenants) are provisions used in leases and other commercial real estate agreements imposing restrictions on the use of real property.

The CPC Guidance reflects the Bureau's generally skeptical stance towards the use of property controls, blending advocacy with an outline of their legal enforcement approach. While this advocacy-oriented tone may limit the CPC Guidance's utility from a strictly legal standpoint, the finalized version offers some notable improvements over the interim guidance issued in August 2024. Specifically, the CPC Guidance includes welcome clarity that property controls are not presumptively anti-competitive, and are only

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