Consumer Protection Updates In British Columbia: Key Compliance Considerations For Businesses Ahead Of August 1, 2026

We previously advised of significant amendments to British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”) introduced through Bill 4, the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act, 2025 (the “Amendment Act”). Please see our bulletin dated March 19, 2025, for an overview of the key amendments under the Amendment Act. Certain provisions of the Amendment Act took effect immediately upon Royal Assent on March 31, 2025, directly impacting supplier obligations through prohibitions on specific contract terms and expanded tribunal jurisdiction. The remaining amendments, including new requirements for subscription contracts, restrictions on direct sales, enhanced consumer cancellation rights, and pre-contract disclosure obligations, will come into force on August 1, 2026, pursuant to Order in Council No. 35, together with accompanying regulatory amendments (the “Regulations”).

This bulletin provides an overview of the compliance obligations already in force, as well as those that suppliers must address in advance of August 1, 2026, and the steps businesses should take to prepare.

Key Amendments in Force (Since March 31, 2025)

Prohibited Contract Terms

The Amendment Act renders certain contract terms void and unenforceable. Suppliers must not include “gag clauses”, terms that prevent consumers from posting online reviews of goods, services, or consumer transactions (Section 14.2). Suppliers must also not include mandatory arbitration clauses or class action waiver terms in consumer contracts (Section 14.3). In non-consumer contracts, such as commercial or business to business agreements, mandatory arbitration clauses and class action waivers remain fully enforceable, except to the extent they apply to a “low value claim” (Section 14.4). A “low value claim” is a claim for an amount of less than $5,000, exclusive of interest and any costs, fees, expenses, or charges related to the dispute (Section 2.1 of the Regulations).

Expanded Tribunal Jurisdiction

The Amendment Act expands the forums available to consumers who suffer damage or loss due to a contravention of the Act (Section 171). Previously, consumers could only bring an action in Supreme Court or Provincial Court; they may now also file a claim before the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Courts and the Tribunal have discretion to order that a consumer remain bound by all or portions of a contract for a specified period where it would be unjust in the circumstances for the consumer not to be bound (Section 173.1).

Key Amendments Coming into Force (August 1, 2026)

Disclosure and Contract Content Requirements

The Amendment Act replaces the existing contract content requirements under the Act with a consolidated framework comprising three distinct obligations. First, direct sales contracts, future performance contracts, time share contracts, and distance sales contracts will be required to include certain prescribed information, including a detailed description of the goods and services to be supplied, return policies and renewal terms, cancellation rights, and total price (Section 18.2). New additions of prescribed information under the Amendment Act include Motor Dealer Act registration numbers, delivery arrangements, currency of payment if not Canadian, promotional offers and their terms, and contract renewal terms including automatic renewal provisions. Second, prior to entering into contracts with a total price exceeding $50 (before taxes and shipping), suppliers will be required to disclose specified information to consumers free of charge and in a clear and comprehensible manner (Section 18.3). Third, consumers will have the right to cancel contracts where the supplier fails to comply with its disclosure obligations or where the contract is inconsistent with the pre-contract disclosure, consolidating cancellation rights that were previously set out separately across the Act (Section 18.4). The applicable cancellation period varies by contract type (Section 18.4(2)):

• in the case of distance sales contracts, consumers will have the right to cancel within 7 days of receiving a copy of the contract; and
• in the case of future performance contracts or direct sales contracts, consumers will have one year from receipt of the contract to exercise cancellation rights.

Direct Sales Contract Prohibitions

Whereas direct sales contracts (agreements entered into in person at a location other than the supplier’s permanent place of business) were previously regulated under the Act through required content and cancellation rights, the Amendment Act introduces an outright prohibition on suppliers offering or entering into such contracts for prescribed categories of goods and services, including: furnaces, duct cleaning services, air conditioners, air cleaners or purifiers, home security systems, water heaters, water treatment devices, purifiers or filters, water softeners, window or energy audits, heat pump systems, solar photovoltaic panel systems, solar thermal panel systems, and any component or related service for any of the foregoing (Section 20.1).

A direct sales contract for a prohibited good or service is not binding on the consumer (Section 20.1(3)). Suppliers are further prohibited from extending or arranging credit in connection with any direct sales contract. Where credit is extended in contravention of this prohibition, neither the direct sales contract nor the credit agreement is binding on the consumer (Section 20.1(2) and (4)). There are, however, certain exemptions to these restrictions. For example, the prohibitions do not apply to sales at temporary locations such as trade shows, agricultural fairs, and temporary kiosks, or to sales where the consumer has invited the supplier to their place of residence in specified circumstances (Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of the Regulations).

Subscription Contracts and Unilateral Amendments

The Amendment Act defines a “subscription contract” as a future performance contract (being a contract under which either the supply of goods or services, or payment in full, is not completed at the time the contract is made) for the supply of goods or services on a continuing basis, other than a fitness or other personal services contract (Section 17). Suppliers offering subscription contracts that provide for automatic renewal must comply with the following cancellation requirements:

• for subscription terms of 60 days or less, automatic renewal provisions will be void unless consumers are permitted to cancel at any time without charge (Section 25.1); and
• for subscription terms exceeding 60 days, automatic renewal provisions will be void unless (i) consumers are permitted to cancel before or after renewal, with refund rights if cancellation occurs after renewal, and (ii) suppliers provide between 30 and 60 days’ notice prior to the renewal date (Section 25.2).

Where a subscription contract permits the supplier to make unilateral amendments, the following requirements apply. First, the specific provisions that may be amended must be identified in the contract at the time it is entered into; any provision permitting unilateral amendment that does not meet this requirement is void (Section 25.2(1)). Second, a provision permitting unilateral amendment or cancellation, return, exchange, or refund terms is void unless it expressly states that any such amendment may only be made if it does not increase an obligation of the consumer or reduce an obligation of the supplier (Section 25.2(2)). Third, suppliers must provide between 30 and 60 days’ notice before any unilateral amendment takes effect, including the revised terms, a plain language summary of the changes, and, where the amendment would increase a consumer obligation or reduce a supplier obligation, notice of the consumer’s right to cancel (Section 25.2(3)).

If a supplier fails to provide the required notice, the amendment is void (Section 25.2(4)). Where a supplier makes a non-compliant unilateral amendment that increases a consumer obligation or reduces a supplier obligation, the contract itself is not void, rather, the consumer acquires a right to cancel at any time without charge or penalty (Section 25.2(5)). These provisions bring British Columbia into closer alignment with Ontario, which had been the only Canadian province with comparable unilateral amendment protections for consumer contracts.

Implications for Suppliers

The incoming amendments will require suppliers to adapt their approach to consumer contracts. In particular, the amendments concerning subscription contracts, contractual disclosure requirements, and direct sales contracts will apply on a prospective basis only, meaning they will not affect contracts already in existence when the amendments take effect, unless and until such contracts are renewed, including by way of automatic rollover on identical terms, without any change to the substantive provisions of the contract (Section 203.002).

By contrast, the amendments concerning prohibited contractual terms (Sections 14.2, 14.3, and 14.4), Civil Resolution Tribunal access, and judicial discretion to bind consumers to contracts apply retrospectively to all contracts, regardless of when they were formed (Section 203.001). In Vandenbosch v Rogers Communications Canada Inc., 2025 BCSC 1199, and affirmed by the British Columbia Court of Appeal in 2026 BCCA 102, the courts considered the temporal scope of these provisions and held that while the prohibitions on dispute resolution clauses apply to contracts regardless of when they were formed, they govern only disputes arising on or after the date the provisions came into force. Businesses should accordingly review all existing consumer contracts to ensure compliance with the prohibitions on gag clauses, mandatory arbitration, and class action waivers.

We note that an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is pending in the Vandenbosch case and expect further updates later this year.

Key Steps for Businesses Before August 1, 2026

Before August 1, 2026, businesses that supply goods or services to consumers in British Columbia should review their contracts and business practices and take the following steps to ensure compliance:

• ensure that consumer contracts do not contain gag clauses, mandatory arbitration provisions, or class action waivers, as these terms are already void and unenforceable regardless of when the contract was formed;
• update subscription contracts with automatic renewal features to comply with the new cancellation, notice, and refund requirements, and clearly identify any terms that may be subject to unilateral amendment;
• confirm that none of the prohibited goods or services are being offered through direct sales contracts, and discontinue any such practices where identified;¹
• revise contract templates for direct sales, future performance, and time share contracts to include all required content, including descriptions of goods and services, return policies, renewal terms, cancellation rights, and total price; and
• put processes in place to honour consumer cancellation rights within the applicable cancellation periods.

In light of recent developments in consumer protection legislation in Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick, businesses operating in British Columbia and other parts of Canada should be prepared for the possibility of further regulatory guidance or refinements as the consumer statutes in those other provinces are amended. Outside of Quebec, where French language requirements call for distinct documentation, most suppliers operating across Canada tend to use the same contract templates and practices.

Footnote

1 Section 20.1(1) of the Amendment Act and Section 4.1 of the Regulations list the following goods and services: furnaces, duct cleaning services, air conditioners, air cleaners or purifiers, home security systems, water heaters, water treatment devices, purifiers or filters, water softeners, window or energy audits, heat pump systems, solar photovoltaic panel systems, solar thermal panel systems, and any component or related service for any of the foregoing.