Significant amendments to the Competition Act1 came into force on June 20, 2025, broadening the categories of conduct for which a private actor may apply to the Competition Tribunal while also introducing monetary awards as a new remedy. These changes are poised to reshape competition litigation strategy for parties that traditionally have relied on the Competition Bureau or civil causes of action before the courts.
Historic Enforcement of the Competition Act
Anticompetitive conduct in Canada has primarily been addressed through public enforcement, rather than private litigation. The Act regulates anti-competitive conduct through both criminal offences (such as conspiracy, bid-rigging and materially false or misleading representations) and civilly reviewable practices (such as abuse of dominance, anti-competitive agreements, and deceptive marketing practices).
Private parties suffering loss or damage because of a breach of a criminal provision can pursue a private statutory cause of action. Private litigants have also resorted to common law claims available based on torts such as conspiracy and misrepresentation. Combined with the introduction of class proceedings legislation three decades ago, competition class actions have become common in Canada. The result is that competition-related class action jurisprudence is now well-developed, particularly in the context of civil cartel cases.2
Antitrust Amendments Become a Government Priority
The Competition Act has undergone three rounds of major amendments since 2022.3 The first round permitted private parties to bring Tribunal applications in relation to the abuse of dominance provisions found in section 79 of the Competition Act. This amendment was recently considered in the Tribunal's decision in JAMP Pharma Corporation v Janssen Inc, which is considered in detail here.4
Among other things, the second round of changes amended the law regarding civilly reviewable agreements to include non-horizontal agreements where a significant purpose of the agreement is to reduce competition.
The Present Changes - Liberalized Leave Test, Expanded Claims and New Monetary Award Remedy
The third round of changes were contained in Bill C-59, which received royal assent on June 20, 2024. The changes came into force one-year later on June 20, 2025.
Expanded Claims Are Now Available to Private Parties
The types of conduct that private parties can challenge at the Tribunal has been expanded. Private parties may now seek leave to bring a proceeding with respect to anti-competitive agreements arising under section 90.1 of the Act and civil misleading advertising provisions of the Act arising under section 74.01 of the Act.5 As a result, a private party can now seek leave to pursue a private access application under the following sections:
- Deceptive marketing practices (74.1)
- Refusal to deal (75)
- Price maintenance (76)
- Exclusive dealing, tied selling and...
