The federal Competition Act is one of the main statutes, among others, regulating advertising law in Canada. The Competition Act contains criminal and civil sections that prohibit false or misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices. These are frequently referred to as the Competition Act’s misleading advertising provisions. The Competition Act also includes a range of other sections prohibiting or regulating specific types of advertising/marketing practices.
The general civil misleading advertising provision of the Competition Act (section 74.01(1)(a)) prohibits representations to the public that promote a product or any business interest and are false or misleading in a material respect. Section 52 of the Competition Act, which is the general criminal misleading advertising provision, is substantially similar to section 74.01(1)(a), but also requires that proof that a false or misleading claim was made intentionally (i.e., a claim has been made “knowingly or recklessly”).
In addition to the general misleading advertising provisions under sections 74.01(1)(a) and 52 of the Competition Act, several other marketing and advertising related practices are either prohibited (i.e., criminal offences) or subject to review by Canadian courts or the federal Competition Tribunal. For more information, see: Competition Bureau Enforcement and Competition Law Litigation.
These other prohibited or regulated practices include deceptive telemarketing (section 52.1), deceptive prize notices (section 53), double ticketing (section 54), multi-level marketing plans (section 55), pyramid selling schemes, (section 55.1), performance claims (section 74.01(1)(b)), ordinary selling price (OSP) claims (sections 74.01(2) and (3)), testimonials (section 74.02), bait and switch selling (section 74.04), sale above advertised price (section 74.05) and promotional contests/sweepstakes (section 74.06).
A number of other Canadian federal, provincial/territorial and local laws can also apply to advertising and marketing in Canada, including CASL (Canadian federal anti-spam law), provincial and territorial consumer protection legislation, federal packaging and labelling legislation (e.g., the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act) and social media platforms’ terms of use.
____________________
SERVICES AND CONTACT
I am a Toronto competition/antitrust lawyer and advertising/marketing lawyer who helps clients in Toronto, Canada and the US practically navigate Canada’s advertising and marketing laws and offers Canadian advertising/marketing law services in relation to print, online, new media, social media and e-mail marketing.
My Canadian advertising/marketing law services include advice in relation to: anti-spam legislation (CASL); Competition Bureau complaints; the general misleading advertising provisions of the federal Competition Act; Internet, new media and social media advertising and marketing; promotional contests (sweepstakes); and sales and promotions. I also provide advice relating to specific types of advertising issues, including performance claims, testimonials, disclaimers, drip pricing, astroturfing and native advertising.
For more information about my services, see: services
To contact me about a potential legal matter, see: contact
For more regulatory law updates follow me on Twitter: @CanadaAttorney
