Matthew Boswell poses for a portrait in Ottawa on Monday. Mr. Boswell joined law firm Norton Rose Fulbright after serving as Canada's competition commissioner.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Matthew Boswell, the former competition commissioner who led the federal agency during an overhaul of Canada’s competition laws, is joining Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in the firm’s antitrust practice.
Mr. Boswell, who will remain based in Ottawa, led the Competition Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency, from 2018 until late 2025.
In his new role, which begins immediately, Mr. Boswell will help clients understand recent changes to Canada’s Competition Act that he and his team helped to usher in.
“The law has changed a lot, and helping clients navigate the law so that they comply with the law is important and kind of carries forward from what I was doing at the bureau,” Mr. Boswell said in an interview.
During his time as commissioner, Mr. Boswell oversaw the Competition Bureau’s high-profile challenge of Rogers Communications Inc.’s $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.
2023: Rogers closes $20-billion Shaw takeover after two-year saga
Mr. Boswell and his team attempted to block the takeover, arguing during a lengthy hearing in front of Canada’s merger court that the deal would harm competition despite the divestiture of Shaw’s wireless carrier, Freedom Mobile, to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd.
The bureau was ultimately unsuccessful.
The Competition Tribunal, which adjudicates cases brought forward by the bureau, approved the deal in late 2022, and the Federal Court of Appeal upheld that decision the following January.
Mr. Boswell’s transition to the private sector, which comes after nearly 27 years in public service, follows a path tread by previous competition commissioners.
John Pecman, Mr. Boswell’s predecessor, joined law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in 2018, soon after finishing his term. Melanie Aitken, who served as competition commissioner from 2009 to 2012, now works at Bennett Jones LLP, while Lawson Hunter went on to work at Stikeman Elliott LLP after his time as commissioner.
While there is no prohibition against former commissioners moving to private practice, the Conflict of Interest Act spells out some post-employment restrictions for public office holders.
For instance, Mr. Boswell is unable to appear before the Competition Tribunal or make submissions to the Competition Bureau on behalf of clients for a period of time.
As commissioner, Mr. Boswell advocated for significant reforms intended to modernize Canada’s competition laws and bring them in line with those in peer countries such as Australia, Britain and the U.S.
Many of those recommendations were implemented by the federal government, which made broad, sweeping changes to many areas of the Competition Act, including introducing steeper penalties for violations and allowing private citizens to bring forward competition cases. The amendments also enhanced merger reviews by introducing a presumption that deals which result in significantly greater market concentration or share are anti-competitive.
The Competition Tribunal’s ability to order the commissioner to pay costs at the end of a legal case was also constrained. That change came after the merger court ordered the commissioner to pay Rogers and Shaw nearly $13-million of costs and disbursements related to the unsuccessful attempt to block the telecoms’ deal.
2023: Merger court awards Rogers millions over Competition Bureau’s attempt to block Shaw merger
“I wasn’t involved in the elected representatives deciding what to change and how to change it, but in multiple instances there were connections between what had happened in the real world and how the act got changed,” Mr. Boswell said.
Mr. Boswell briefly worked at a Bay Street law firm at the start of his career before becoming a criminal prosecutor. He then went on to work as a fraud prosecutor at the Ontario Securities Commission, before joining the Competition Bureau and eventually becoming its commissioner.
He vacated the position on Dec. 17, 2025, shortly before his second term was scheduled to end in February, 2026. Having accomplished what he’d set out to do during the term, Mr. Boswell decided to spend some time with his family, he said.
Jeanne Pratt, senior deputy commissioner of the mergers and monopolistic practices branch at the Competition Bureau, is serving as the acting Commissioner of Competition.
Jennifer Teskey, managing partner for Canada at Norton Rose Fulbright, said in a statement that Mr. Boswell’s “unique experience” will help the firm provide businesses with “clarity and assurance” as competition law evolves.
“This marks a significant step forward – turning regulatory shifts into opportunities for strategic growth,” she wrote.