National News
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks at the Competition Summit in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Joly says Ottawa will be 'hawkish' on competition to restore affordability
Published 10:43 PDT, Wed October 1, 2025
—
Ottawa will aggressively push competition between companies in a bid to ease the cost of living, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said on Wednesday as she opened the Competition Bureau's annual summit in Ottawa.
In her speech, Joly delivered an emphatic endorsement of more market competition in Canada.
“Let me be clear. This government will be hawkish on competition," she said.
Joly said affordability is still top of mind for Canadians and argued expanding market competition to give consumers more choices offers a path to lower prices.
The minister cited her August decision to uphold a regulatory decision that allows large telecom firms to offer services on the backs of their rivals' networks as an example of a measure that boosts competitive forces in the sector.
"The ruling enables internet providers to compete today across the country. This means more choice, lower prices and better service offerings for Canadians everywhere," Joly said.
In June, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued its final decision on that contentious matter, which pitted Telus Corp. against rivals Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Inc., and many smaller providers that opposed the framework.
Bell argued against the policy, saying it discourages the major providers from investing in their own infrastructure. Some independent carriers, suggested it would make it harder for them to compete against larger players.
Telus defended the policy as a way to boost competition in regions where it doesn’t have its own network infrastructure, and argued it would make telecom services more affordable.
The Competition Bureau acts as a watchdog for competitive dynamics in Canada and has examined concentration in the grocery and airline sectors in recent years.
The previous Liberal government gave the Competition Bureau new powers to levy heftier penalties, more closely scrutinize proposed mergers and compel financial documents from the subjects of its market investigations.
Last month, the bureau launched a market study of barriers for small- and medium-sized businesses seeking to access financing in a lending industry dominated by Canada's Big Six banks.
Joly offered that study as an example of efforts that will help Canadian businesses grow and compete.
"My message today is clear: Canada is open for business, but we expect companies to compete fairly," she said.
– Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
With files from Sammy Hudes in Toronto.
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