Joshua Krane 

overview

Joshua Krane is a recognized leader in competition / antitrust and foreign investment matters. He advises companies in the agricultural, consumer products, energy, entertainment, aviation, technology and telecommunications industries, collaborating with clients’ legal and executive teams to address complex business issues.

Joshua has extensive experience completing strategic transactions, working with government officials on regulatory matters, and resolving commercial disputes. He also offers guidance on pricing and contracting practices, social media and influencer marketing, and relationships with customers, suppliers and competitors.

Considered a leader in advertising law, Joshua has also been at the forefront of new developments as advertising has become increasingly digital. In addition to providing advice on major ad campaigns, he represents clients in disputes before the courts, the Competition Bureau, the Ad Standards Canada and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CTRC). Joshua successfully resolved a high-profile dispute with the Competition Bureau in a digital marketing case, including, as a first, obtaining the Bureau’s agreement not to extend the remedy to websites outside of Canada.

As the co-author of Investment Canada Act: Commentary and Annotation, Joshua is frequently called upon to advise on foreign investment matters, including national security reviews. He has testified twice before the House of Commons standing committee on industry, science and technology regarding the Investment Canada Act.

Earlier in his career, Joshua worked for several government agencies, including the legal services branch of the Competition Bureau, the constitutional law branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, and the Federal Prosecution Service.

Representative Matters

Recent representative transactional matters include:

• West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. on its acquisition of Norbord Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at around $4 billion.
• Sierra Wireless on the sale of its automotive embedded module product line to Rolling Wireless for US$165 million.
• Starlight on its acquisition with KingSett Capital of the Northview REIT for $4.9 billion, the largest acquisition in the Canadian multi-residential sector in history
• The Jim Pattison Group in the sale of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. to Lassonde Industries Inc.
• Harris Corporation on its US$34 billion merger with L3 Technologies
• The Washington Companies on its US$1.2 billion acquisition of Dominion Diamond
• Summit Park on its US$50 million acquisition of certain assets from Iron Mountain Incorporated under a consent agreement with the Commissioner of Competition
• Westlake Chemical Corporation on its US$3.8 billion acquisition of Axiall Corporation
• Imperial Oil on its C$2.8 billion sale of 497 company-owned Esso retail stations
• Holcim Ltd on its C$50 billion merger with Lafarge S.A. and on its divestment of certain North American cement, ready-mix, aggregates and construction businesses to CRH plc
• Schneider Electric SA on its acquisition of Invensys plc in a transaction valued at US$5.2 billion
• Daylight Energy Ltd. on its C$2.2 billion acquisition by China Petrochemical Corporation, known as Sinopec Group

Recent representative disputed matters include:

• StubHub in connection with a Competition Bureau investigation into advertising practices
• The Toronto Real Estate Board in its appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in connection with a Competition Bureau challenge under the Competition Act
• Alcon Canada in relation to a Competition Bureau investigation under the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association in relation to its intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada in an asset forfeiture case
• An auto parts company in response to a production order issued under the Competition Act
• United airlines in relation to the Competition Bureau's challenge of alliance agreements with Air Canada under the civil merger and competitor collaboration provisions of the Competition Act before the Competition Tribunal

Presentations

Publications

News

Education

• University of Toronto, LLM - 2010
• McGill University, BCL / LLB (Magna Cum Laude) - 2008
• University of Ottawa, B.Soc.Sc. (Summa Cum Laude; Gold Medalist) - 2004

Year Of Call

• Called to the Ontario bar - 2009

Community Involvement

• Trustee for the Ontario Science Centre

Awards & Rankings

• The Best Lawyers in Canada 2021 (Competition/Antitrust)
• Who’s Who Legal: Foreign Investment Review 2020
• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2020 (Competition Law)
• Who's Who Legal: Competition - 2018-2020 (Future Leaders - Partners), which profiles the foremost practitioners in the competition community aged 45 and under
• Who’s Who Legal: M&A and Governance 2019 (Foreign Investment Review Chapter)
• Canadian Lexpert Directory 2019 (Repeatedly Recommended – Competition Law)
• The Legal 500 Canada 2018 (Recommended – Competition & Antitrust)

Media Mentions

• Opinion: 'Merger regulators don’t have crystal balls, but we have backstops if they get it wrong'. Article by Joshua Krane & James Musgrove, The Globe and Mail, December 29, 2020.
• 'Federal competition commissioner says international regulators have stronger tools to take on Big Tech'. Article by Christine Dobby, The Globe and Mail, December 1, 2020.
• 'Does the Competition Bureau have Canada’s grocers in its sights?' Article by Julius Melnitzer, Legal Writer, November 30, 2020.
• Opinion: New Competition Bureau guidelines deliver chilling message to businesses already feeling the heat. Article by Joshua Krane, James Musgrove and Bill Wu, The Globe and Mail, November 1, 2020.
• Roundup of law firm hires, promotions and departures, Canadian Lawyer, October 14, 2020.
• Quoted: UK landmark class action to see wrangling over Canadian case. Article by Sylwester Frazzoni, PaRR, November 8, 2019.
• Quoted: Merger challenge shows Competition Bureau focus on digital economy. Article by Julius Melnitzer, The Lawyer’s Daily, July 24, 2019.