Scholars Argue Canada’s Competition Bureau Must Avoid Vague Enforcement Standards
PORTLAND, Ore. (Jan. 28, 2026) — As Canada’s Competition Bureau moves to modernise its enforcement framework, a new filing from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) raises concerns that the agency’s draft guidance could misinterpret business success as a sign of anti-competitive harm.
In comments filed with the Competition Bureau, ICLE submits that the proposed Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines may treat efficiency and innovation as “red flags” rather than as evidence of effective competition.
The comments respond to the bureau’s implementation of recent amendments to the Competition Act, including a new civil provision for anti-competitive agreements and an expanded abuse-of-dominance framework. ICLE urges regulators to apply these changes using a rigorous, effects-based approach grounded in sound economics and focused on consumer welfare.
“The bureau is right to address modern competitive challenges,” said ICLE Executive Director Ian Adams, a Canadian citizen. “But enforcement guidelines must remain anchored in sound law and economics. Overly broad interpretations of what counts as ‘anti-competitive’ conduct risk undermining the innovation and efficiency that competition law exists to protect.”
The filing was authored by Adams and ICLE President and Founder Geoffrey A. Manne, along with ICLE scholars Eric Fruits, Brian Albrecht, and Daniel J. Gilman.
Among its key recommendations, ICLE highlights:
- Effects-based analysis: Enforcement should require clear evidence of actual or highly likely competitive harm, rather than relying on speculative or theoretical concerns.
- Property rights and investment incentives: The comments caution that expansive interpretations of refusals to deal could weaken intellectual-property rights and reduce firms’ incentives to invest and innovate.
- Clear standards for “anti-competitive acts”: The Competition Bureau should provide more specific guidance to distinguish between aggressive competition on the merits and conduct genuinely aimed at excluding rivals.
The full comments to the Competition Bureau Canada can be found here.
Media enquiries or requests to interview Ian Adams may be directed to Jim Fellinger at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.