On 24 March 2021, the Canadian Government announced updates to its guidelines on national security reviews (Guidelines) under the Investment Canada Act (Act). The updated Guidelines identify additional areas that, in the Government’s view, could present national security concerns in foreign investment, including sensitive personal data, certain sensitive technologies and critical minerals, in addition to expressly re-emphasising the Government’s views on investments by state-owned or state-influenced investors. More specifically: With respect to the identity of…

The Government of Canada recently announced the 2021 thresholds for a mandatory, pre-closing economic “net benefit” review and approval under the Investment Canada Act (ICA). The new thresholds will be published in the Canada Gazette in February 2021. Updated thresholds 2021 In most cases these thresholds will decrease for the first time on a year-to-year basis since the introduction of regulatory amendments in 2015 (which established an “enterprise value” calculation for certain private sector investments).…