What small- and medium-sized businesses need to know about competition law
The Competition Act applies to all businesses in Canada, big and small. The purpose of the Competition Act is to maintain and encourage competition in Canada, including by ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the Canadian economy. How could these laws affect you as a business? Here are a few examples:
- If you want to bid for government contracts, you need to know the law related to bid-rigging to avoid potential misconduct.
- If your business has online reviews or invests in influencer marketing, there are deceptive marketing provisions that apply to you.
- If you are a company that builds widgets, but the only supplier of a crucial part has been locked in a long-term exclusive contract with a major competitor of yours which is also the dominant widget maker in the market, this could make it more difficult for you to scale and compete. Depending on the circumstances, this could be anti-competitive conduct.
Important amendments to the Competition Act became law on June 20, 2024. You should be aware of these changes so that you can make sure your business is compliant and so that you’re empowered to spot and report anti-competitive practices in the market that might be impacting you. Ignorance of the law is not a defense.
You can learn about the law through the Competition Bureau of Canada’s free resources on TheHubNS by clicking the button below:
What you should know about “Made in Canada” or “Product of Canada” claims
As many consumers shop for Canadian-made products, it’s important that businesses be truthful about their labelling and marketing claims. The Competition Bureau is a federal law enforcement agency, responsible for enforcing the laws that address false and misleading advertising, including deceptive claims about the origin of products (except for food products).
The Bureau doesn’t require any business to put certain information on their labels – such as a ‘product of Canada’ or ‘Made in Canada’ guarantees. However, if businesses choose to make claims about a product, then they may be subject to enforcement under false and misleading advertising laws. The Bureau has guidelines to help make sure that “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” claims are truthful for those companies who do decide to make these claims.
Keep in mind that the Bureau will not approve or certify your product claims. To learn more, check out these resources on TheHubNS:
Reducing regulatory red tape that creates barriers to competition
As part of our mandate, the Competition Bureau of Canada advocates to governments at all levels for the benefits of a competitive marketplace. For example, we may identify barriers to competition and make recommendations to regulators and policymakers on how to reduce these barriers. Barriers to competition can be regulations or policies that make it difficult for businesses to emerge or compete, or they can be factors that make it difficult for consumers to switch products or services or make informed choices.
Some examples of our recent advocacy work include:
• Our study on the grocery sector,
• Our piece on competition in the pet pharmaceutical sector, and
• Our submission to Finance Canada with proposals to strengthen Canada’s financial sector.
If you’d like to let us know about a policy, law or regulation that is impacting your ability to compete, get in touch. You can contact our Information Centre by phone toll free in Canada 1-800-348-5358 or visit our website and fill out the complaint form (competition-bureau.canada.ca).
You can learn more about our advocacy work here and read submissions here: