“Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” Claims

(Lexology – Laurent Massam, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)

The Competition Bureau has released Enforcement Guidelines relating to when “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” claims may be made in association with non-food products sold to Canadian consumers (“Guidelines”). Food products that are associated with “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” claims are subject to different guidelines created by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Although the Guidelines are not legislation, they do describe the general approach of the Bureau to assessing “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” claims under the false and misleading representations provisions of various Acts, including the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.

The Guidelines come into effect on July 1, 2010. After this date, all non-food products that are associated with a “Made in Canada” or “Product of Canada” claim, including inventory that is already on-shelf, must meet the conditions set out in the Guidelines. In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to consider options such as over-stickering to make product packaging compliant post July 1, 2010. Read more here.