Competition Bureau acting commissioner Jeanne Pratt says fair domestic competition helps drive productivity and investment as Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. evolves.
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Canada’s competition watchdog says competition at home is a key driver of productivity and investment, as trade tensions with the United States continue to shift the economic backdrop.
In an interview, Competition Bureau acting commissioner Jeanne Pratt said a “healthy market” in Canada helps strengthen the domestic economy and make the country more competitive in international trading markets. She linked that to the “current context where we need to lock in as much productivity in our domestic economy as possible.”
Pratt said competition is also central to how businesses behave in the market, describing it as a lever that “stimulates businesses to make investments and innovate,” encourages companies to offer “the lowest possible prices,” and pushes firms to find “cost efficiencies in their production.”
Canada’s Competition Bureau enforces the law against anticompetitive conduct that can stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and drive up costs, and Pratt said fair competition supports Canada’s role as a trading partner.
The comments come as Canada-U.S. relations have been unsettled since Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year and the introduction of changing tariff policies. Trade talks faltered in August, and new levies and countermeasures followed.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been working to diversify Canada’s trading partners and present Canada as a safe haven for global investors, with the aim of attracting billions of dollars to major projects, and Pratt said fair competition remains part of that pitch.
Pratt also pointed to the Competition Bureau’s focus on preventing mergers that could lead to industry concentration, including in food and grocery. She said blocking such deals is not meant to prevent firms from building scale that helps them compete internationally; rather, she described a distinction between companies with scale and companies with “market power that can be exercised at the expense of Canadians.”
Pratt’s comments were echoed by Robin Shaban, chair of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, who said a lack of competition can make it harder for companies to enter and participate in the Canadian marketplace in ways that benefit consumers. Shaban referenced a decade ago when the Harper government pushed for policies aimed at encouraging a fourth telecom player, though a large enough fourth competitor did not emerge.
Shaban said enforcement approaches also matter as cross-border dynamics change, pointing to “uncertainty” about how Canada’s Competition Bureau will operate as compared with the U.S. competition authorities under Trump.
While Pratt said the bureau will continue emphasizing relationships both domestically and internationally, she said competitive markets remain “more important than ever” because competition helps drive affordability, innovation and economic growth.
The Competition Bureau has maintained cooperation with the United States for decades on issues such as joint enforcement and cross-border deals, but Shaban said the approach has diverged since the Trump administration took office.
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