CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Melissa Cattini and Ahmed Malik, MLT Aikins
In sum, Saskatchewan’s entry into legislated fran - chise regulation reinforces the benefits of harmoni - sation, while underscoring the importance of under - standing provincial nuances in statutory compliance. Structuring disclosure documents to accommodate these differences while maintaining document preci - sion and traceability will be essential for any franchisor expanding nationally. Franchisors and franchisees operating, or intending to operate, in Saskatchewan should adapt disclosure documents accordingly and seek timely legal and financial advice to ensure preci - sion and continued compliance with the new regime. Provincial Response to Enhanced Competition Law Scrutiny Manitoba has enacted The Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act (Various Acts Amended), SM 2025, c27 (“Manitoba’s PCGSS Act”) which operates alongside recent federal Competition Act reforms to further regulate and restrict property controls. Effective 3 June 2025, the PCGSS Act tar - gets restrictive covenants, exclusivity clauses and analogous property controls in the grocery sector that are seen to limit competition. It voids most new gro - cery store property controls going forward and estab - lishes a process for reviewing and, in limited cases, justifying existing ones. A “property control” includes, with limited exceptions, covenants or exclusivity clauses restricting the sale, ownership, development or use of land as a grocery store or supermarket, granted in favour of an operator or a related party. Pre-existing property controls are void and unenforce - able, unless the agreement is registered on title before 30 November 2025, with registration accepted by Manitoba’s Land Titles Office by 30 December 2025. All registered property controls remain subject to the ongoing right of review by the Municipal Board on application by the Minister of Public Service Deliv - ery or any third party. Any person, including private individuals, franchisees or government, will be able to apply to the Minister to request the review of a registered property control. The onus on the business to prove the control is “clearly” in the public interest, beyond private commercial protection for the parties
who negotiated it, or risk cancellation, variation or replacement. Manitoba’s PCGSS Act represents a significant depar - ture from standard commercial leasing practices in Manitoba in the grocery retail and franchise sector. For franchisors in the grocery sector, the PCGSS Act necessitates careful contract audits in light of busi - ness plans and projections and, where possible or desirable, registration of legitimate protections and readiness to defend them publicly, particularly where tied to site planning or anchor tenant stability. Manitoba is the first province to adopt such statu - tory measures, and could serve as a model for other jurisdictions, with the Competition Bureau potentially advocating for similar reforms. Forward-looking fran - chise systems would be well served by exploring alternative strategies to safeguard market and terri - tory allocations to ensure that policies remain viable and attractive to existing and prospective franchisees. British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act (Bill 4, 2025) (BPCPAA) in British Columbia received Royal Assent on 31 March 2025. However, several significant provisions are not yet in force and await future activation by regulation. Among the provisions already in effect are prohibitions in con - sumer contracts on arbitration clauses, class-action waivers, and terms restricting the posting of online reviews. These restrictions apply retroactively, and render any existing clauses void. Among other things, the BPCPAA significantly tight - ens disclosure standards, requiring up-front clarity on pricing, cancellation, renewal, returns and other key terms in consumer-facing contracts. Notably, for non- consumer (business-to-business) contracts, the BPC - PAA also limits the enforceability of arbitration and class-action restrictions, but only in cases involving “low-value claims”. The monetary value for what con - stitutes a low-value claim remains to be prescribed by regulation.
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