Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order Is Made as the Day on Which Division 37 of Part 4 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 Comes into Force: SI/2025-106

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 24

Registration
SI/2025-106 November 19, 2025

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2024, NO. 1

Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order Is Made as the Day on Which Division 37 of Part 4 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 Comes into Force

P.C. 2025-748 October 30, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry, under section 384 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 2024, fixes the day on which this Order is made as the day on which Division 37 of Part 4 of that Act comes into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

Pursuant to the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 (BIA), this Order fixes the day on which this Order is made as the day on which Division 37 of Part 4 of the BIA implicating the Telecommunications Act (the Act) comes into force.

Objective

Budget 2024 announced a series of pro-consumer amendments to the Act to better allow Canadians to renew or switch between home internet and cell phone plans. This Order brings these amendments into force, allowing consumers to benefit from these new provisions.

Background

The Government has taken action to increase competition in the telecommunications sector and make telecommunications services more affordable for consumers. These measures include the issue of a new policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the implementation of pro-competitive measures in spectrum auctions to help smaller carriers compete, and the approval of the merger of Rogers and Shaw with unprecedented conditions to drive down telecommunications prices across Canada.

These measures are having an impact, with wireless prices declining 34.5% in the two years following the acquisition of Shaw by Rogers, and 44.2% in the last five years (July 2020 to July 2025). Wireline prices are also showing positive trends, with a 4.9% price decrease in the two-year post-transaction, and a 4.3% decrease over the five-year period. Notwithstanding this progress, many Canadians continue to experience barriers to switching service providers and benefiting from increased competition and lower prices.

That is why Budget 2024 announced amendments to the Act to empower consumers to make well-informed decisions around their telecommunications services by decreasing barriers to switching plans and providers. The amendments contain three provisions: (1) a requirement for carriers to send notifications in advance of the end of a contract, including relevant plans available on the market; (2) a requirement for carriers to offer self-service mechanisms to change or cancel services; and (3) a prohibition on carriers charging fees that discourage switching plans or providers.

Implications

The CRTC is responsible for implementing the new provisions found in the amendments to the Act. It launched the necessary regulatory proceedings in 2024 and is expected to issue the associated regulatory decisions in the near future. Through its decisions, the CRTC will establish details ranging from the information to be provided to consumers as part of an end-of-contract notification, which fees should be prohibited to reduce barriers to switching providers, and the types of self-service functions that should be made available to consumers. Once these decisions are issued, the new provisions will have implications for service providers, which will need to ensure compliance with the details established by the CRTC.

Consultation

Details of the implicated provisions are being established through a public process led by the CRTC. This process included a comment period and a reply comment period in late 2024 and early 2025, in which industry members, consumer groups, individual Canadians, and other implicated stakeholders expressed their views and contributed to the regulatory process.

Contact

Andre Arbour
Director General
Telecommunications Policy Branch
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Telephone: 613‑218‑5140