In Canada, unlike the United States and most western economies that have a robust stock market, securities law is regulated solely by the provinces and not the federal government. Over the years, the labyrinth of laws and regulations that securities dealers and issuers need to grapple with to offer securities across Canadian provinces has been reduced through an effort by provincial securities regulators to harmonize their requirements. Some provinces are working together to establish joint securities laws. On August 25, 2015, the participating provinces published a revised draft of their proposed “Capital Markets Act”.

Overall, current provincial harmonized regulations are being adopted and maintained in their present form. New regulation has been developed to replace existing local regulations that have not been harmonized as yet. The only changes of substance from existing regulation are in the area of regulation of derivatives.

The proposed Capital Markets Act and its Regulations have been published for a 120 day public comment period. This proposed legislation is an important precondition towards establishment in the future of a national securities regulator.

The draft Capital Markets Act can be accessed here.