CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sylvie Rodrigue, Grant Worden, Nicole Mantini and Anne Merminod, Torys LLP
Technology and Online Services Technology companies and those offering online ser - vices and platforms have increasingly become litiga - tion targets in Canada, particularly in the context of AI and social media, following trends in the US litigation landscape. Proposed class actions involving AI have to date been focused on the alleged unauthorised use of copyright - ed materials to train Large Language Models (LLMs), or on the reproduction of such materials by LLMs. As AI‑driven tools continue to develop rapidly, includ - ing chatbots, medical devices, and vehicles, proposed class actions alleging failures to warn of AI‑related risks or defective design (eg, where AI tools gener - ate incorrect or misleading information) are expected to emerge. Although Canada has not yet adopted a comprehensive legal framework governing AI, plain - tiffs may nevertheless rely on existing product liability causes of action (as described in 2.1 Product Liability Causes of Action and Sources of Law ) to support such claims. Plaintiffs have also commenced actions against social media service providers seeking to impose legal frameworks developed in the product liability context, including a focus on design, warn - ings, and marketing. Claims against social medial ser - vice providers have focused on alleged privacy rights, both statutory and at common law. The incidence of these types of claims experienced an uptick in 2025, which is expected to continue into 2026.
It remains to be seen whether British Columbia or other Canadian provinces will continue to explore the possibility of similar cost recovery legislation that is either broad in scope or targets other industries spe - cifically. Consumer Protection-Based Claims Similar to the governments’ increased focus on cost recovery, Canada has also seen a rise in product liabil - ity claims brought under the various provincial con - sumer protection regimes, either in conjunction with, or instead of, claims brought in tort. This is particularly so in British Columbia and Quebec. As discussed in 1. Product Safety and 2. Product Liability , consumer protection legislation provides direct rights of recovery for losses associated with alleged breaches of war - ranties of product fitness or quality or with alleged misrepresentations, without the requirement to prove Following a well-established trend in the USA, Cana - da has seen multiple proposed class actions seeking damages caused by the contamination of waters by so-called forever chemicals, including PFAS. These chemicals have also generated class actions related to their presence in a variety of consumer goods, mostly under consumer claims alleging that defend - ants had failed to disclose them or misrepresented the products’ characteristics. all the elements of a common law tort. Environmental and Decontamination Similar class actions have also been filed against manufacturers for their alleged failure to disclose the presence of microplastics in their products. A growing number of such class actions can be expected in the upcoming years. As discussed in 2.1 Product Liability Causes of Action and Sources of Law , allegations in Québec are generally rooted in consumer protection to avoid the burden of scientific evidence required with safety defect allegations.
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