Welcome to the November issue of Blakes Competitive Edge, a monthly publication of the Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group. Blakes Competitive Edge provides an overview of recent developments in Canadian competition and foreign investment law, including updates on enforcement activity by the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau), recent initiatives and key trends.
Key Highlights
- The Bureau has completed a similar number of merger reviews year-to-date in 2025 (185) compared to the same period in 2024 (172), with a significant increase compared to the same period in 2023 (158). The average length of reviews year-to-date in 2025 was 40 calendar days, up from 38 days in the same period in 2024.
- The Government of Canada publishes its 2025 federal budget and tables Bill C-15, which include proposed legislative amendments to the Competition Act (Act).
- The Bureau releases draft Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines and Merger Enforcement Guidelines for consultation.
- Rogers Communications Inc. challenges the constitutionality of certain administrative monetary penalties in response to the Commissioner of Competition’s (Commissioner) misleading advertising claim.
Competition Act
Merger Monitor
October 1 – October 31, 2025 Highlights
- 27 merger reviews announced; 23 merger reviews completed, with reviews taking 40 calendar days on average
- Primary industries of completed reviews: manufacturing (17%); finance and insurance (13%); healthcare and social assistance (13%); real estate and rental and leasing (13%); mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (13%); professional, scientific and technical services (13%)
- Twelve transactions received an Advanced Ruling Certificate (52%); ten transactions received a No Action Letter (43%); one transaction was resolved through other means
January – October 31, 2025 Highlights
- 195 merger reviews announced, 185 merger reviews completed, with reviews taking 40 calendar days on average
- Primary industries of completed reviews: real estate and rental and leasing (16%); finance and insurance (15%); mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (14%); manufacturing (14%); wholesale trade (8%)
- 106 transactions received a No Action Letter (57%); 71 transactions received an Advance Ruling Certificate (38%); five transactions were resolved through other means; two transactions were resolved via consent agreement; and one transaction was abandoned by the merging parties
Merger Reviews Completed Year to Date Through October 31, 2025, by Primary Industry
Non-Enforcement Activity
Bureau Releases Proposed Revised Merger Enforcement Guidelines
- On November 13, 2025, the Bureau released its draft Merger Enforcement Guidelines, which aim to clarify the Bureau’s approach to conducting merger reviews following amendments to the Act's merger review provisions enacted between 2022 and 2024. The publication of the draft MEGs follows an initial consultation on the existing MEGs, which was completed earlier this year. The Bureau is soliciting public feedback on the proposed MEGs until February 11, 2026. For further information on the draft MEGs, see our November 2025 Blakes Bulletin: New Year, New MEGs: Competition Bureau Publishes Draft Merger Enforcement Guidelines for Comment.
Government of Canada Proposes Amendments to the Competition Act
- On November 4, 2025, as part of its 2025 budget, the federal government tabled Bill C-15, which, among other things, introduces proposed amendments to the Act that would revise the Act’s recently introduced greenwashing provisions by (1) removing the requirement for businesses to substantiate environmental claims made in respect of a business or business activity in accordance with “internationally recognized methodology” and (2) eliminating the ability for private parties to bring an application to the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) in respect of such claims. In its budget, the government framed these changes as intended to maintain protections against false or misleading environmental claims while reducing uncertainty that has discouraged investment and slowed environmental initiatives. For further information regarding these proposed amendments, see our November 2025 Blakes Bulletin: Federal Government Proposes Revisions to Recently Enacted Greenwashing Provisions.
Bureau Releases Proposed Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines
- On October 31, 2025, the Bureau released its draft Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines (ACCA Guidelines), which aim to clarify the Bureau’s approach to enforcing the civil collaboration and restrictive trade practices provisions of the Act. The ACCA Guidelines incorporate amendments to the Act made between 2022 and 2025, and are set to replace the Abuse of Dominance Enforcement Guidelines, the Price Maintenance Guidelines and sections of the Competitor Collaboration Guidelines. The Bureau is soliciting public feedback on the ACCA Guidelines until January 29, 2026. For further information on the ACCA Guidelines, see our November 2025 Blakes Bulletin: Competition Bureau Publishes Draft Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines for Comment.
Merger Intelligence and Notification Unit Releases Update on Key Statistics 2024–2025
- On October 15, 2025, the Merger Intelligence and Notification Unit released an update summarizing the characteristics of merger reviews started and concluded by the Competition Bureau’s Mergers Directorate in its 2024–2025 fiscal year. Among other key updates, 247 pre-merger notifications and Advanced Ruling Certificate requests were filed in 2024–2025, representing an increase of 31% over the previous fiscal year. For more information on the Bureau’s merger review activity in the 2024–2025 fiscal year, see the Blakes Competitive Edge™: October 2025 Update.
Enforcement Activity
Bureau Concludes Investigation Into Algorithmic Pricing in Rental Housing Market
- On November 10, 2025, the Bureau announced that it had closed its civil investigation into the use of algorithmic pricing tools for rental housing in Canada and published a position statement on its investigation. Algorithmic pricing involves the use of artificial intelligence-driven software to estimate supply and demand for rental units and recommend rental prices to landlords. The Bureau was concerned that certain algorithmic pricing tools generated prices for various competitors based on non-public, competitively sensitive information. The Bureau found that the adoption of algorithmic pricing tools by landlords increased gradually after their introduction but has since declined significantly following heightened public scrutiny. Based on current market evidence, the Bureau concluded that use of the tools has not been sufficiently widespread to meet the thresholds for a violation of the Act and did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that there has been an abuse of dominance or anticompetitive collaboration at this time. For more information on the Bureau’s investigation into algorithmic pricing in Canada’s rental housing market, see the Blakes Competitive Edge™: March 2025 Update.
Bureau Advances Investigation Into Mérieux NutriSciences’ Acquisition of Bureau Veritas’ Food Testing Business
- On October 16, 2025, the Bureau announced that it had obtained court orders to compel the production of records and information as part of its ongoing investigation into Mérieux NutriSciences’ completed acquisition of Bureau Veritas’ Canadian food testing business. The Bureau is examining whether the transaction is likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition, through potential impacts on pricing, service quality, customer choice or barriers to entry. The transaction was part of a global transaction announced in October 2024, with the Canadian component closed in December 2024. While the acquisition was non-notifiable under the Act, the Bureau retains jurisdiction to challenge non-notifiable transactions up to three years after closing.
Rogers Files Motion to Amend its Response to Commissioner’s December 2024 Notice of Application
- On October 3, 2025, Rogers Communications Inc. (Rogers) filed a motion seeking leave to amend its response to the December 2024 notice of application filed by the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner). The application alleges that Rogers’ advertising of its Infinite wireless plans constituted deceptive marketing contrary to section 74.01 of the Act. Rogers seeks to amend its pleadings to (1) raise defences of estoppel and waiver, (2) challenge the constitutionality of certain administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), and (3) allege a breach of the deemed undertaking rule. Notably, Rogers claims that the Commissioner permitted investigative officers in the present application to access discovery documents that Rogers produced as part of the Bureau’s application to block the company’s acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. Rogers also seeks to challenge the constitutionality of the AMP at issue, asserting that it amounts to a true penal consequence without the procedural protections required by the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Rogers' arguments parallel arguments advanced by Google in an abuse of dominance proceeding before the Tribunal in October 2025. The Tribunal partially granted Rogers' motion, issuing an order denying the addition of pleadings regarding defences and the alleged breach of the deemed undertaking rule, but allowing the addition of the constitutional challenge. For more information on the Bureau’s investigation into Rogers’ unlimited data plans, see the Blakes Competitive Edge™: January 2025 Update and Blakes Competitive Edge™: March 2025 Update. For more information on the abuse of dominance proceedings against Google, see the Blakes Competitive Edge™: October 2025 Update.
Investment Canada Act
Non-Cultural Investments
- Information regarding Investment Canada Act decisions since August 2025 has not yet been published and will be addressed in a subsequent edition of Blakes Competitive Edge.
Non-Enforcement Activity
Government of Canada Proposes National Security Screening Mechanisms in Bank Act
- On November 4, 2025, the federal government announced its intention to introduce legislative changes to the Bank Act that would permit the review of certain investments in Canadian businesses made by foreign banks and their affiliates for national security concerns, as part of its 2025 budget. The government intends to hold targeted consultations to inform the proposed amendments, which would harmonize the treatment of these investments with the approach taken for other foreign investments, including under the Investment Canada Act, to protect sensitive technology, critical infrastructure or data.
Blakes Notes
- On October 21, 2025, Blakes Partner Julia Potter hosted Ryan Manucha, a Research Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, on the Counterfactual Podcast to discuss domestic trade barriers and the future of interprovincial free trade.
- On November 18, 2025, Blakes Partner Julia Potter participated in a panel at Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust 2025 conference in Washington, DC, on national security and geopolitical trends in antitrust regulation.
- On November 20, 2025, Blakes Partner Jonathan Bitran was named to the list of 2025 Lexpert Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers 40 and Under. For more information, see our Blakes Awards: Four Blakes Lawyers Names 2025 Lexpert Rising Stars.
- Browse our thought-leadership insights from the Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group to learn more.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your usual Blakes contact or any member of the Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group.