Canadian Right to Repair: Where the Law Stands
A status report on Canada's Right to Repair movement: Bill C-244, Québec's Bill 29, and the manufacturer obligations a federal framework would bring.
Canada’s Right to Repair movement covers a broad range of products, from electronics to automobiles, with one goal: giving consumers and independent repairers access to the tools, parts, and information they need to fix what they own. For manufacturers selling into Canada, the trajectory is clear, and worth planning for now, not after legislation lands.
How the movement got here
Pre-2020 to 2021. Early advocacy took shape, with CanRepair gaining traction at both federal and provincial levels. The push was driven by environmental concerns and waste-reduction goals.
2022. Canada’s Competition Bureau weighed in, emphasizing the economic and consumer benefits of increased competition in the repair market.
2023. The movement’s biggest legislative year to date:
- Bill C-244: a federal amendment to the Copyright Act addressing the circumvention of technological protection measures for repair purposes
- Québec’s Bill 29: the first comprehensive provincial Right to Repair legislation, targeting planned obsolescence and repair access in the automotive sector; its repairability-disclosure requirements take effect in October 2025
2024 onward. Expect momentum to spread across provinces, with broader product coverage on the table.
What a federal framework could require of manufacturers
Based on the direction of current legislation and advocacy, a federal Right to Repair law could impose obligations including:
- Providing repair manuals and schematics
- Selling spare parts directly to consumers and third-party repairers
- Sharing diagnostic tools and software
- Designing products for easier repair
- Modifying warranty policies to accommodate non-authorized repairs
- Establishing training programs for independent repairers
- Offering transparent parts and service pricing
- Implementing environmental sustainability initiatives
Any one of these would reshape how OEMs support products in Canada. Together, they amount to a requirement most manufacturers can’t meet without in-country repair infrastructure.
Getting ahead of it
Manufacturers that build their Canadian repair and parts capability before legislation forces the issue will comply on their own timeline and turn repairability into a selling point rather than a scramble.
Microland supports manufacturers on exactly this front: Canadian depot repair, sustainability programs built on refurbishment and responsible disposition, parts distribution, and compliance solutions tailored to each program. Get in touch to start building your Canadian repair story.