Manitoba’s Franchises Act Comes Into Force On October 1, 2012

The Manitoba legislature recently announced that Manitoba's Franchises Act (the Manitoba Act), which received Royal Assent on June 17, 2010, and the recently finalized regulations thereunder (the Manitoba Regulations) will come into force on October 1, 2012, thereby joining Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (the Other Jurisdictions). This will make Manitoba the fifth Canadian jurisdiction to implement franchise legislation. The announcement comes after the Manitoba legislature released draft regulations for public consultation in November 2011, and the final version of these regulations are substantially similar to such draft.

The Manitoba Act and Regulations are based, in large part, on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada's Model Franchises Act and are substantially in line with existing franchise legislation and regulations in the Other Jurisdictions. Despite the similarities, it is important to note that a few key differences exist between