Consumer Protection Offices in Canada by Province and Territory

Consumer protection in Canada is handled by a provincial or territorial office, not by a single federal agency. Each province and territory has a consumer affairs or consumer protection body that licenses businesses, answers consumer questions and receives complaints, and the table below lists the office, its official website and what it handles.

If you have a problem with a business, a lender or a purchase, the first place to look is the consumer protection office for your province or territory. These offices administer the consumer protection statutes in their jurisdiction, license or register many categories of businesses, publish consumer information and advisories, and receive complaints.

What a consumer protection office does

Most offices perform four core functions. They license or register businesses that fall under consumer protection law, such as collection agencies, payday lenders, direct sellers, travel sellers and mortgage brokers. They enforce the rules through inspections, audits and investigations. They educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. And they receive and attempt to resolve complaints, sometimes by mediation and sometimes by formal enforcement action.

Provincial, not federal

The federal Financial Consumer Agency of Canada oversees banks and federally regulated consumer protections, and the Competition Bureau enforces the Competition Act, but day-to-day consumer protection for most purchases and credit products is provincial. That is why the office you contact depends on where you live and, often, where the business is licensed.

How to complain

Before you contact an office, gather your documents: the contract, receipts, correspondence and any record of the business's response. Most offices ask you to complain to the business in writing first, then escalate if the issue is not resolved. Complaints are usually free to file. If your complaint concerns a bank or a federally regulated financial institution, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the institution's own complaint process apply instead.

Quebec and the territories

Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur is one of the strongest consumer regulators in the country, with powers to investigate merchants and take legal action. The three territories have smaller consumer affairs units; Yukon and Nunavut do not have a payday lending regime, so their offices focus on general consumer complaints and licensing. The table below lists the current office for each jurisdiction with an official link.