CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Claudia Feldkamp and Chris Pigott, Fasken
Fasken 333 Bay Street Suite 2400 Bay Adelaide Centre Box 20 Toronto, Ontario M5H 2T6, Canada Tel: +1 416 366 8381/+1 800 268 8424 Fax: +1 416 364 7813 Email: toronto@fasken.com Web: www.fasken.com
The Business and Human Rights Landscape in Canada: Evolution in an Age of Uncertainty Like most nations in the global community, Can - ada is experiencing the uncertainty and vulner - ability brought forth by recent significant geopo - litical and geoeconomic shifts, which have also fundamentally changed its political and social discourse domestically. The influences of these shifts were reflected in the most recent federal election in Canada, held on 28 April 2025. A Lib - eral Party that had been governing for ten years overcame a seemingly insurmountable unpopu - larity compared to a front-running Conservative Party to form a Liberal minority government (again). Largely seen as motivated by negative sentiment towards Trump administration 2.0’s priorities and actions, and as a referendum on which party leader was best able to deal the threats of an uncertain world, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his new government will now face enormous challenges. Economic fears of looming recession propelled by inflation, tariffs, supply-chain disruption and global investment uncertainty are testing, if not the commitment, then the pace of progress
toward a sustainable economy. These domestic and international concerns will have implications for the ongoing evolution of business and human rights in Canada. Canada’s historical approach to business and human rights (and corporate social responsibility) Canada’s approach to business and human rights has always been heavily influenced by international developments, the activities of its strategic trading partners, and the evolving expectations of stakeholders and the Canadian public. Canada’s legal framework is also continuously evolving as a mix of law and policy, with increas - ing pressure to pursue legislative initiatives to promote supply chain transparency and due diligence to mitigate and prevent the risk of the use of forced labour and child labour in supply chains. At the same time, growing demands for the imposition and enforcement of import bans in order to combat forced labour in the making of goods are underscoring the imperative of human rights due diligence for businesses.
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