Last checked against the official text on 15 October 2026. Authority: Competition Bureau Canada (headed by the Commissioner of Competition).
Reference information, not legal advice; confirm with counsel before relying on a figure.
Current thresholds
| Test | Threshold (exceeds) | Applies | Official source | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate Canadian assets, or gross revenues from sales in, from or into Canada, of the parties and their affiliates Party-size threshold (Competition Act s. 109(1)) |
CAD 400 million | Start date not stated on this page | Competition Act, section 109 s. 109(1)(a) and (b) ("exceed"; or such greater amount as may be prescribed) |
15 October 2026 |
| Value of the Canadian assets acquired, or of revenues from sales in, from or into Canada generated by those assets (for share deals, the target corporation and its controlled entities) Transaction-size threshold (Competition Act s. 110(2) and (3)) |
CAD 93 million | Start date not stated on this page | Competition Bureau news release, 2 March 2026 Competition Act s. 110(2) and (3) ("would exceed" the amount under s. 110(7) or (8)); amount per Bureau release of 2 March 2026 |
15 October 2026 |
Who reviews, and is filing mandatory
Mergers in Canada are reviewed by the Competition Bureau under the Competition Act, whose Commissioner of Competition heads the Bureau. Part IX of the Act sets up pre-merger notification.
Under section 114, the parties to a proposed acquisition, amalgamation or combination that falls within the circumstances of section 110 must, before the transaction is completed, notify the Commissioner and supply the prescribed information. Section 114 applies subject to the rest of Part IX, which includes exemptions not covered on this page.
Under section 123, a transaction referred to in section 114 may not be completed before the waiting period ends, so the regime is suspensory. The period is 30 days. It runs from the day the Commissioner receives the information required under section 114(1), or, if the Commissioner requires additional information within that first period, from the day that additional information is received. Under section 123(2), a transaction may be completed earlier if the Commissioner, or a person authorised by the Commissioner, tells the parties before the period ends that no application under section 92 is intended at that time.
The two size tests
Two size tests apply together. The party-size test is in section 109 and the transaction-size test is in section 110.
Party size. Under section 109, Part IX applies only if the parties to the transaction, together with their affiliates, either have assets in Canada that exceed CAD 400 million in aggregate value, or had gross revenues from sales in, from or into Canada that exceed the same amount in aggregate value. Revenues are determined for the annual period and in the manner prescribed. The Act also allows a greater amount to be prescribed.
Transaction size. Under section 110, for an acquisition of assets of an operating business in Canada, the value of those Canadian assets, or the gross revenues from sales in, from or into Canada generated by them, must exceed the amount set under section 110(7) or (8). For an acquisition of voting shares, the same asset and revenue measures are applied to the corporation whose shares are acquired and the entities it controls. In its news release of 2 March 2026, the Competition Bureau stated that this amount remains CAD 93 million in 2026.
Share acquisitions and other structures
For acquisitions of voting shares, section 110(3) adds a test on the voting interest the acquirer and its affiliates would hold after the deal. The applicable percentage depends on whether any of the voting shares are publicly traded and on what the acquirer already holds; the percentages are set out in the section and are not restated as numbers on this page. Amalgamations, the formation of combinations and acquisitions of an interest in a combination have their own tests in section 110(4) to (6). See the text of section 110.
How the transaction-size amount is set each year
Section 110(7) sets an initial amount for the first year. For later years, section 110(8) uses any amount that has been prescribed. If none has, the amount is the one the Minister determines in January of that year, rounded to the nearest million, by adjusting the previous year's amount for the change in average nominal gross domestic product, and it is published in the Canada Gazette (section 110(9)). Until an amount for the year is published, if one is published at all, the previous year's amount applies. The party-size amount is set in section 109 itself, which allows a greater amount to be prescribed. The CAD 93 million amount for 2026 is taken from the Bureau's release of 2 March 2026, which states that it is unchanged from the previous year.
What this page does not cover
This page does not cover exemptions from notification, the rules for valuing assets and revenues and for which period, the aggregation of assets and revenues when a deal combines an asset acquisition and a share acquisition (section 110(3.1)), the anti-avoidance rule in section 113.1, the special rules for unsolicited or hostile take-over bids (sections 114(3) and 123(3)), the information that must be supplied, advance ruling certificates, the filing fee, requests for additional information in practice, the substantive merger review test, whether a merger that is not notifiable can still be reviewed or challenged, or the separate national security review of investments under the Investment Canada Act. The earlier transaction-size amounts are not restated here. The voting-interest percentages of section 110(3) are described but not stated.
Changes log
- : Page published. Figures checked against sections 109 and 110 of the Competition Act and the Competition Bureau release of 2 March 2026.
- : The Competition Bureau stated that the transaction-size amount remains CAD 93 million for 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Canadian pre-merger notification thresholds?
Two size tests apply. The parties and their affiliates must have Canadian assets, or gross revenues from sales in, from or into Canada, that exceed CAD 400 million (section 109), and the transaction must exceed the transaction-size amount under section 110, which the Competition Bureau stated remains CAD 93 million in 2026.
Is Canadian merger notification mandatory and suspensory?
Section 114 of the Competition Act requires the parties to notify the Commissioner before completing a transaction within its scope, and section 123 provides that such a transaction may not be completed before the waiting period ends.
Do both Canadian thresholds have to be met?
Section 109 says Part IX applies only if the party-size test is met, and section 110 sets the transaction-size test and further conditions that apply to the type of transaction. Both sections must be read together for a given deal.
Did the Canadian transaction-size amount change in 2026?
No. The Competition Bureau stated on 2 March 2026 that the amount remains CAD 93 million.