Randall Hofley, Toronto

About Randall

From 2018 to 2019, Randall served as General Counsel and Senior Enforcement Advisor in the Bureau. In this role, he led numerous high-profile enforcement matters related to mergers, abuse of dominance, deceptive marketing and cartel matters. Randall also served as a member of the Bureau's Senior Management and its Policy and Procedures Committees, where he played an active role in the development of the Bureau's strategic plans and priorities, external policies related to merger efficiencies, immunity and leniency, market studies, abuse of dominance, legislative amendments, and internal policies related to public interest privilege, expert witnesses, documentary discovery and subpoenas. Randall was also lead counsel in the negotiation of numerous memoranda of understanding between the Bureau and other Canadian law enforcement or regulatory agencies and with respect to multilateral enforcement cooperation agreements at an international level.

During his time as Special Counsel to the Commissioner of Competition from 2005 to 2006, Randall litigated major cases and was responsible for legislative and policy reform initiatives relating to abuse of dominance, cartels, intellectual property, price maintenance, regulated conduct and litigation procedures. Some of these initiatives resulted in major amendments to the Competition Act (Act), Bureau policies and Tribunal procedures.

Randall has litigated many of Canada's most high-profile cases under the Act. These include the first abuse of dominance case to reach the Supreme Court of Canada, the only Federal Court of Appeal decision to address patents under the Act, the only (civil) price maintenance case, the first case considering the Act's competitor collaboration provisions, the only appellate level case on the application of the Act's cartel provisions to agreements between purchasers of goods or services, the only Tribunal case to address the Regulated Conduct Doctrine, and numerous cases developing standards for cartel prosecutions and class-action certification and defences in the cartel context.

Randall's experience spans a number of industries, including aluminum and steel, animal health, automotive parts, chemicals, digital platforms, energy, financial services, food and consumer products, information technology, industrial machinery, life sciences, music, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, real estate, telecommunications, transportation (rail, air and pipelines), travel (hotels and rental cars), and waste management.

Select Experience

Recent representative matters in private practice include acting for:

Mergers & Acquisitions

Agrium Inc. on its US$36-billion merger with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.
BCE Inc. (Bell Canada, Inc.) in connection with the contested merger between Rogers Communications and Shaw Communication
BCE Inc. on its C$3.9-billion acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services, its proposed C$3.38-billion acquisition of Montréal-based Astral Media Inc. and its leading specialty and pay television channels, radio stations, digital media properties and out-of-home advertising platforms, and its acquisition of an ownership position in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated on its US$7.6-billion purchase of Bayer AG's animal health business
Federated Co-operatives Limited on its acquisition of 181 Husky retail fuel sites from Cenovus Energy Inc.
Superior Plus Corp. on its C$412-million acquisition of the retail propane business of Gibson Energy Inc. and its C$932-million offer for Canexus Corporation

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Dow Chemical Canada Inc. in an action with respect to a joint venture related to the Act and restraint of trade issues, brought before the Alberta Court of King's Bench and the Alberta Court of Appeal
ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. and Imperial Oil Ltd. in respect of a damages award based on a finding that the criminal cartel provisions of the Act were violated, brought before the Alberta Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada
Givaudan Canada Co., Hirschvogel Automotive Group, Suncor Energy Services, Inc., Microsoft Corporation and Tyson Foods Canada Inc. in class-action proceedings before the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Canada Bread Company Ltd., Givaudan Canada Co. and Yazaki North America Inc. in class action proceedings in the Ontario Superior Court
Givaudan Canada Co., Olin Corporation and Toronto Residential Real Estate Board in class action proceedings in the Federal Court of Canada
Staples, Inc. and Office Depot, Inc. in merger litigation before the Tribunal
Secure Energy Services Inc. in merger litigation before the Federal Court of Appeal
Visa Canada in litigation brought before the Tribunal by the Bureau challenging Visa merchant rules as a violation of the (civil) price maintenance provisions of the Act
United Continental Holdings, Inc. in litigation brought before the Tribunal by the Bureau challenging alliance agreements between United Continental Airlines and Air Canada under the competitor collaboration provisions of the Act
Major companies such as H.J. Heinz Company of Canada Ltd., BCE Inc. and TransCanada Pipeline Limited (respectively) before federal regulatory tribunals, including the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the National Energy Board
Autoliv, Inc., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., Mohawk Industries, Inc., Yazaki North America/Yazaki Corporation and other global companies in successfully securing dismissals, immunity, leniency or other resolutions in cartel investigations, prosecutions or class actions in respect of auto parts, audio-video products, car carrier (vessel) services, chemicals, flooring, food products insulation, or vitamins

Awards & Recognition

Randall is continuously recognized as a leading competition lawyer and litigator, including in the most recent editions of the following publications:

Chambers Global Legal Guide 2025 (Competition/Antitrust: Litigators)
Chambers Canada Legal Guide 2025 (Competition/Antitrust: Litigators)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Competition/Antitrust Law)
The Legal 500 Canada 2025 (Competition and Antitrust)
Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys 2024 (Litigation Star)
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2024 (Most Frequently Recommended)
Lexpert's Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada 2024 (Competition Law)
Lexology Index: Competition 2024
Lexology Index: Canada 2024 (Competition)
Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation 2024
Euromoney's LMG Competition and Antitrust Expert Guide 2021

Professional Activities

Randall is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the American Bar Association and is an active member of those associations' sections in his areas of expertise. Previously, he was chair of the CBA's International Law Section and National Competition Law Section’s Criminal Matters Committee.

Randall was an adjunct professor of the course on government control of business at McGill University Faculty of Law and is currently vice-president and treasurer of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies. He was a law clerk to former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada.