Public consultation on updated Merger Enforcement Guidelines

Overview

The Competition Bureau is launching a public consultation to solicit feedback from Canadians on its proposed Merger Enforcement Guidelines.

The proposed guidelines adjust and change the 2011 Merger Enforcement Guidelines to better reflect how the Bureau analyzes mergers following recent changes to the Competition Act. They also provide guidance for businesses adapted to:

• current practices;
• recent legal and economic developments; and
• changing features of the Canadian economy.

Until the final guidelines are published, the proposed guidelines provide information about how we enforce the amended merger provisions of the Competition Act.

The following provides information on the purpose of this consultation, how to provide comments and next steps.

Purpose of this consultation

Between 2022 and 2024, the Government of Canada made significant changes to the Competition Act as part of its efforts to modernize Canada’s competition laws. These include important amendments that allow the Bureau to address anti-competitive mergers more effectively. As a result, updated guidance is needed to reflect these landmark changes to the law.

Late last year, the Bureau held an initial consultation on its review of the merger enforcement guidelines.The feedback received from Canadians was considered in adjusting our guidelines.

The Bureau is now consulting on its updated guidance to ensure that it provides clarity and transparency for businesses to comply with the Competition Act. The feedback received as part of this consultation will be used to finalize the guidelines.

Our goal is to hear a wide range of perspectives, and we will carefully consider the feedback we receive.

Until the final guidelines are published, the proposed guidelines provide information about how we enforce the amended merger provisions of the Competition Act.

Provide comments

We invite interested Canadians to provide comments on any aspect of the proposed Merger Guidelines before February 11, 2026, by emailing cbmegconsultation-bcconsultationldf@cb-bc.gc.ca.

The Bureau will publish your input on its website, unless you request that it be kept confidential.

Next steps

After considering the comments received, the Bureau will publish its final guidelines on its website.

The final guidelines will accurately and effectively communicate our current approach to merger reviews.