CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Martha Harrison, Nikiforos Latrou, Eugenia (Evie) Bouras and Marissa Caldwell, McCarthy Tétrault
deceptive “drip pricing” practices. This involved add - ing a mandatory CAD1.50 online booking fee to movie tickets purchased on Cineplex’s website, which was not disclosed upfront to consumers. The Competi - tion Bureau found that this practice misled custom - ers by advertising unattainable ticket prices, violating Canadian competition law. Cineplex has announced its plan to appeal the Bureau’s decision as well as the penalty amount. Further, on 9 June 2025, the Competition Bureau took legal action against DoorDash Inc for promoting their online delivery service at a lower price than what con - sumers actually have to pay. A Competition Bureau investigation discovered that consumers were unable to purchase food at the advertised price due to the mandatory fees added to the cost at checkout. Moreover, in the context of ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the United States, the practice of “maple-washing” – misleadingly branding non- Canadian products as Canadian, or misrepresent - ing the level of Canadian input – has come under increased regulatory and public scrutiny. This tactic, often used to capitalise on consumer demand for Canadian-made goods, undermines both consumer confidence and fair competition. Regulatory bodies, including the Competition Bureau, are paying closer attention to origin claims, especially when they are used to imply quality, safety or ethical standards asso - ciated with Canadian products. Misrepresentation of a product’s origin may now be treated as a form of false or misleading advertising, subject to enforcement under the Competition Act. Advertisers are expected to substantiate “Made in Canada” claims with clear evidence, such as domestic manufacturing or sourc - ing thresholds. 1.10 Taste and Cultural Concerns Canada’s official bilingualism has long shaped its advertising landscape, but recent regulatory changes – particularly in Québec – have significantly raised the stakes for compliance. Under Bill 96, which amends the Charter of the French Language, businesses oper - ating in Québec must ensure that French is not only present but also presented on terms that are both equally prominent and no less favourable than the cor - responding English (or other language) across a wide
range of consumer-facing materials. This includes websites, product packaging, labels, advertising and product information. Any generic terms or product descriptions included in trade marks (including registered trade marks) must now also appear in French. This change aims to curtail the practice of registering entire product labels as one “trade mark” to benefit from the exception that previ - ously allowed trade marks to be reproduced without further translation requirements. Additionally, public signage and commercial advertising must feature French text in a manner that is “markedly predomi - nant” (defined as taking up at least twice as much of the visual field) relative to any other language featured therein. These changes reflect Québec’s broader push to ensure that French-speaking consumers have equal access to product information, and to more generally reinforce French as the dominant language in com - merce and public life. For advertisers, this means not only translating content but also restructuring visu - al design and branding strategies to meet the new standards. Non-compliance may result in enforce - ment actions by the Office québécois de la langue française , including notices of violation and potential penalties. 1.11 Politics, Regulation and Enforcement Recent changes to the Competition Act, outlined in previous sections, have bolstered the regulatory framework around deceptive advertising in Canada. These amendments, which came into force in June 2025, have brought increased scrutiny to deceptive practices such as greenwashing, drip pricing and false promotional pricing. In parallel, growing trade tensions between Cana - da and the United States have raised awareness in regards to “maple-washing” – the practice of falsely branding foreign products as Canadian, or misrepre - senting the level of Canadian input (see 1.9 Regula- tory and Legal Trends ). As consumers increasingly associate Canadian origin with quality, safety and ethi - cal standards, or seek out Canadian products in light of ongoing tariff wars, regulators have begun cracking down on misleading “Made in Canada” claims. Under
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