Pre-Merger Notification Guide: Canada’s Competition Act

Canada's Pre-Merger Notification Regime

Canada's Competition Act provides that certain types of transactions (Notifiable Transactions) exceeding monetary and other thresholds – referred to as “party size” and “transaction-size” thresholds – must be notified to the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner), who is the head of the Competition Bureau (Bureau), prior to closing. In the absence of an exemption or a waiver, parties to Notifiable Transactions must provide the Commissioner with prescribed information and comply with a specified waiting period before completing the transaction.

Parties that have completed a Notifiable Transaction without complying with these provisions may have committed a criminal offence and be liable for significant fines and court-ordered remedies, including dissolution of the transaction.