Canada: Contracts and Commercial Law

Understanding the complex intersection of law and business requires specialized expertise that can navigate regulatory frameworks, compliance requirements, and legal implications across various industries. Professional legal guidance helps organizations anticipate challenges, mitigate risks, and make informed strategic decisions in an increasingly regulated business environment.

The Divisional Court's decision in Land Design Inc. v. Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corp. establishes critical boundaries for judicial review of procurement decisions and clarifies bidder obligations under no-contact rules. When does a procurement decision become sufficiently public to warrant court intervention, and what responsibility do bidders bear when their employees engage with prohibited government officials during an active RFP process?

Legal fees can fluctuate significantly from month to month depending on the stage and complexity of your matter. Understanding why your bill may be higher or lower in a particular month can help you plan ahead, manage your retainer, and avoid unexpected financial surprises.

Construction projects frequently encounter changes that can significantly impact profitability and timelines. Understanding how to properly manage change orders—formal amendments to construction contracts—is essential for protecting project margins and avoiding costly disputes over scope modifications, pricing adjustments, and schedule impacts.

Surging trading volumes, rapid regulatory change and well-publicized controversies in respect of United States prediction markets have brought new prominence to the regulation of prediction markets. Until this year, there had been no formal guidance provided for businesses looking to offer trading in prediction market contracts (also referred to as “event contracts”) in Canada in accordance with existing regulatory frameworks, and, in particular, there has been significant uncertainty concerning the application of securities law restrictions to the trading of event contracts.

This comprehensive weekly summary analyzes civil decisions from the Ontario Court of Appeal for September 21-25, 2026, covering receivership appeals, family law jurisdiction disputes, forum selection clauses, litigation guardian requirements, class action certification in abuse cases, and mandatory insurance interpretation for mortgage brokers.

The Court of Appeal of Québec recently enforced an international arbitration clause despite its use of permissive rather than mandatory language. This decision clarifies how Canadian courts interpret dispute resolution clauses in cross-border commercial agreements, particularly when parties use imperfect wording like "may" instead of "shall." The ruling emphasizes that courts will look beyond literal language to the broader context and intent of international parties seeking legal certainty through arb

The 2024 amendments to Canada's Competition Act have fundamentally altered how exclusive use clauses in commercial leases are evaluated under competition law. These provisions, which traditionally restricted landlords from leasing to competing businesses, may now face scrutiny even when landlords and tenants are not competitors, raising critical questions about intent, market effects, and the retroactive application of the new legislative framework.

The September 2017 amendments to Canada's Patented Medicines Regulations introduced a new pharmaceutical patent linkage litigation scheme that more closely mirrors the US Hatch-Waxman system. This detailed comparison chart examines the similarities and differences between these two regulatory frameworks, highlighting key distinctions that remain despite the convergence.