Misleading Advertising

The Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group works directly with advertisers and their representatives at all stages of the advertising development process to ensure compliance with the misleading advertising and promotional contest provisions of the Competition Act.

We have experience representing clients provincially and nationally in misleading and comparative advertising claims, injunctions, trials and appeals. Our team includes the leading competition litigators in Canada and has amassed the best record of any Canadian firm in contested proceedings before the Competition Tribunal. Many of our lawyers have practices that emphasize on marketing and advertising and regulatory issues. We also regularly advise clients with respect to compliance with government regulations and in dealings with the Canadian Competition Bureau.

Our excellent and long-standing relationship with the Competition Bureau and deep understanding of the Bureau’s policies and operations uniquely position our team to achieve timely and pragmatic solutions for our clients. We also regularly work with clients on issues involving public relations concerns. Our access to experts in the public relations field and extensive experience in dealing with the Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) Trade Dispute Procedure provide us with an additional advantage to better assist our clients.

Recent Experience

Representative matters:

Bell Aliant v. Rogers – Acted for Bell Aliant in defence of a successful injunction relating to misleading advertising claims.
Beatrice Foods Inc. v. Ault Foods Ltd. – Acted for Beatrice in seeking an injunction to stop the defendant from making certain statements in its advertising campaign.
Purolator v. UPS – Acted for UPS in an important case dealing with comparative advertising claims, successfully defending UPS against allegations that claims in respect of its shipping rates were misleading.
Church & Dwight Ltd. v. Sifto Canada Inc. – Acted for Church & Dwight in seeking an injunction to stop advertising by the defendant.
The Commissioner of Competition and the Forzani Group – Acted for the Forzani Group in defending claims of improper ordinary price advertising under the Competition Act and negotiating a consent agreement.

Awards & Recognition

Blakes was named Regional Firm of the Year – Americas in the 2019 GCR Awards and Competition Law Firm of the Year in the 2018 Benchmark Canada Awards.

Members of our Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group are consistently ranked as leading practitioners in the most recent editions of the following publications:

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Competition/Antitrust) ranks Blakes in Band 1, its top tier for Competition/Antitrust. Brian Facey, Cassandra Brown, Randal Hofley, Navin Joneja, Robert Kwinter, Julie Soloway and Micah Wood are recognized as leading lawyers.
Canadian Lawyer Magazine names Julie Soloway one of Canada’s Most Influential Lawyers 2020. Brian Facey was included in the 2017 list.
Global Competition Review’s GCR 100 ranks the Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group in the “Elite” category, the review’s highest designation, noting that Blakes “continues to be at the top of Canadian competition law, and is considered ‘the firm to beat’ by several of its rivals.”
Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust ranks Julie Soloway as one of the world’s leading women lawyers in competition.
The Best Lawyers in Canada (Competition/Antitrust Law) named Brian Facey as Lawyer of the Year (2021) and recognizes Cassandra Brown, Navin Joneja, Robert Kwinter, Julie Soloway and Micah Wood.
The Legal 500 Canada (Competition/Antitrust) ranks Blakes in the top tier with clients referring to us as “market leader.”
Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys recognizes Catherine Beagan-Flood, Réal Forest, Jeff Galway, Randall Hofley, Robert Kwinter, Claude Marseille, Dalton McGrath, James Sullivan and Robert Torralbo for their expertise in competition litigation.
Who’s Who Legal: Foreign Investment Review recognizes Brian Facey, Rob Kwinter and Julie Soloway as leading lawyers.
Who's Who Legal: Competition recognizes Brian Facey, Navin Joneja, Robert Kwinter, Julie Soloway and Micah Wood.
Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders Global Elite - Competition recognizes Brian Facey a top competition lawyer in Canada.
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders - Competition recognizes Brian Facey, Robert Kwinter and Julie Soloway were also recognized as Thought Leaders.
Who’s Who Legal: Canada (Competition) recognizes Brian Facey, Navin Joneja, Robert Kwinter, Julie Soloway and Micah Wood as leading lawyers.
Who's Who Legal: Competition - Future Leaders recognizes Cassandra Brown and Kevin MacDonald as the foremost practitioners in competition law.
The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada ranks Brian Facey and Robert Kwinter as leading lawyers.
The Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers in Canada ranks Brian Facey and Robert Kwinter as leading lawyers.
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory ranks Brian Facey, Navin Joneja, Robert Kwinter and Julie Soloway as leading lawyers.