Partner
A “brilliant antitrust lawyer,” Elisa is known to be “top-notch,” “sharp and hard-working,” and “willing to get down to details.”
Client – Chambers Canada
Elisa has a broad regulatory practice with a specialization in competition and foreign investment law. With vast knowledge of Canada's regulatory framework, she provides strategic advice on numerous federal statutes to domestic and international clients interfacing with the Canadian government.
Elisa’s broad-based expertise has earned her the trust of leading technology, communications and media companies; retailers; and consumer packaged goods manufacturers.
Clients turn to Elisa to advise on the full range of antitrust, consumer protection and privacy matters, from multijurisdictional merger controls and cartel investigations to reviewable conduct, misleading advertising and ecommerce. She also counsels clients on foreign ownership and control restrictions.
Elisa regularly appears before the Competition Bureau and has acted as external counsel to the Commissioner of Competition and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Partner
A “brilliant antitrust lawyer,” Elisa is known to be “top-notch,” “sharp and hard-working,” and “willing to get down to details.”
Client – Chambers Canada
Elisa has a broad regulatory practice with a specialization in competition and foreign investment law. With vast knowledge of Canada's regulatory framework, she provides strategic advice on numerous federal statutes to domestic and international clients interfacing with the Canadian government.
Elisa’s broad-based expertise has earned her the trust of leading technology, communications and media companies; retailers; and consumer packaged goods manufacturers.
Clients turn to Elisa to advise on the full range of antitrust, consumer protection and privacy matters, from multijurisdictional merger controls and cartel investigations to reviewable conduct, misleading advertising and ecommerce. She also counsels clients on foreign ownership and control restrictions.
Elisa regularly appears before the Competition Bureau and has acted as external counsel to the Commissioner of Competition and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Shaw Communications Inc.
Acted for Shaw Communications Inc. in the acquisition by Rogers Communications Inc. of all of Shaw's issued and outstanding Class A and Class B shares in a transaction valued at approximately C$26 billion, including debt, representing a significant premium for Shaw's shareholders. This deal won M&A Deal of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Law Awards.
Wattpad Corp.
Acted for Wattpad Corp., a global multi-platform storytelling entertainment company headquartered in Canada, in its acquisition by Naver Corporation, a public South Korean Internet conglomerate. This transaction is valued at more than US$600 million.
Google LLC
Acted for Google LLC on competition matters relating to its acquisition of Fitbit, Inc., a leader in wearable health-focused technology.
Alstom S.A.
Acted as Canadian counsel to Alstom S.A. in its EUR4.4-billion strategic acquisition of Bombardier Transportation.
Canopy Growth Corporation
Acted for Canopy Growth Corporation on competition and regulatory matters in relation to the $5-billion investment in Canopy made by Constellation Brands Inc.
Google Inc.
Acting as Canadian counsel to Google Inc. on competition and other regulatory matters.
Monsanto Company
Acted for Monsanto Company on competition and regulatory matters in its US$66-billion acquisition by Bayer AG.
Kinepolis Group NV
Acted for Kinepolis Group NV in its $123-million acquisition of Landmark Cinemas Canada LP, Canada's second-largest movie theatre exhibition company.
Iron Mountain Incorporated
Acted for Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM) in connection with the divestiture of certain records and information management assets in the United States and Canada to Arkive, Inc., a portfolio company of the U.S.-based private equity firm, Summit Park Partners. The U.S. Department of Justice and Canadian Competition Bureau required these assets to be divested following IRM's US$2-billion acquisition of Recall Holdings Ltd.
National Tire Distributors
Acted for National Tire Distributors, the Canadian subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, in its sale to Groupe Touchette Inc.
DigitalBridge
Acted for DigitalBridge, the global digital infrastructure investment platform of Colony Capital, Inc., in connection with the sale of the Canadian data centres and the associated colocation business of one of its portfolio companies, Aptum Technologies, to eStruxture Data Centers Inc.
New Look Vision Group Inc.
Acted for New Look Vision Group Inc. in its $800-million sale to NL1 AcquireCo Inc., an entity created by funds managed by FFL Partners, LLC, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Dr. H. Doug Barnes Family.
TRATON SE
Acted as Canadian competition counsel for TRATON SE, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, in its US$3.7-billion acquisition of Navistar International Corporation, a leading commercial trucks, buses and engines manufacturer.
DIF Capital Partners
Acted for DIF Capital Partners, through its DIF Core Infrastructure Fund II (DIF CIF II), in its majority investment in Valley Fiber Ltd., a Manitoba-based telecommunications infrastructure company.
Brand Industrial Services, Inc.
Acted for Brand Industrial Services, Inc., a global leader providing a broad range of solutions to the industrial, commercial and infrastructure markets, in its acquisition of Québec-based AGF Access Group, Inc.
Hostess Brands, Inc.
Acted as Canadian counsel to Hostess Brands Inc. in its $425-million acquisition of Voortman Cookies Limited from Swander Pace Capital.
Canopy Growth Corporation
Acted for Canopy Growth Corporation in its acquisition of a majority stake in BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc., a leading producer of sports nutrition products.
DigitalBridge
Acted for DigitalBridge in its acquisition (and related bank financing) of Beanfield Metroconnect, an independent bandwidth infrastructure provider serving the enterprise, carrier and multi-dwelling unit markets in Toronto and Montréal over its owned fibre network.
McKesson Canada and Well.ca
Advised McKesson Canada Corporation and Well.ca ULC, a licensed producer under the Cannabis Act, on regulatory and commercial matters relating to market access under the Cannabis Act and the distribution of medical cannabis through various channels.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Acted for Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry, in connection with its $1.68-billion acquisition of 279 Esso-branded fuel and convenience sites; 229 of these sites are located in Ontario and 50 are located in Québec. The acquisition also includes land banks and dealer-operated sites, as well as a long-term supply agreement with Imperial Oil.
Apollo Global Management LLC
Acted as Canadian counsel to Apollo Global Management LLC on competition and regulatory matters in connection with Apollo's US$7-billion acquisition of electronic security company ADT Corp.
WIND Mobile Corp. and its shareholders
Acted for WIND Mobile Corp. (WIND) and its shareholders, including West Face Capital, in connection with the sale of WIND to Shaw Communications Inc. for approximately $1.6 billion.
Precision Castparts Corp.
Acted for Precision Castparts Corp. on Canadian competition and foreign investment review aspects of its proposed acquisition of Noranco for US$560 million.
West Face Capital Inc.
Acted for West Face Capital Inc. in its acquisition, together with a consortium of investors including Globalive Capital, Tennenbaum Capital Partners and LG Capital Investors, of the interests of VimpelCom Ltd. in Globalive Wireless Management Corp. (doing business as WIND Mobile).
Just Energy Group, Inc.
Acted for Just Energy Group, Inc. with respect to competition matters in its sale of National Energy Corporation, its water heater and HVAC home services business, to Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership for $505 million.
Corus Entertainment Inc.
Acted for Corus Entertainment Inc. with respect to the regulatory aspects of its acquisition from Bell Media of interests in certain TV (Teletoon, Historia & Séries+) and radio assets in Ottawa currently held by Astral Media, Inc. The combined acquisition price for these assets is $494 million.
US Airways Group, Inc.
Acted for US Airways Group, Inc. in connection with the competition law aspects of its merger with AMR Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines, Inc. The combined equity value is approximately US$11 billion.
Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V.
Acted as Canadian counsel for Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V. with respect to regulatory matters in connection with the acquisition of Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V. by The Sherwin Williams Company for approximately US$2.34 billion.
Commissioner of Competition
Acted for the Commissioner of Competition, the Head of the Canadian Competition Bureau, in the first challenge ever brought under the civil price maintenance provisions of the Competition Act alleging that the merchant rules of Visa and MasterCard are unlawful. This is one of the most significant proceedings to be brought before the Competition Tribunal in recent years, and resulted in a lengthy trial before the Tribunal.
Westerkirk Capital Inc.
Acted for Westerkirk Capital Inc. in its acquisition of Vista Broadcast Group Inc., the parent company of Vista Radio Ltd. which holds 38 broadcast licences serving 50 communities throughout British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
George Weston Limited
Acted for George Weston Limited in connection with the acquisition of ACE Bakery Limited in a deal valued at $110 million.
The Black & Decker Corporation
Acted as Canadian counsel to The Black & Decker Corporation with respect to regulatory matters in connection with the acquisition of The Black and Decker Corporation by The Stanley Works in a deal valued at US$4.5 billion.
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Acted as external counsel to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission with respect to its ownership and control review of Globalive Wireless Communications Inc. ("Wind Mobile").
Amcor Limited
Acted for Amcor Limited in the sale of its White Cap business in Europe, Asia, Brazil and the US to Silgan Holdings Inc. for a base price of $230 million.
Cineplex Galaxy Limited Partnership
Acted for Cineplex Galaxy LP on its acquisition of Famous Players in a transaction valued at $500 million.
Atlas Holdings LLC
Acted for Atlas Holdings LLC in its acquisition of Resolute FP Canada Inc.'s pulp, newsprint, and directory paper mill operations in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Atlas Holdings, LLC
Acted for Atlas Holdings in its US$120-million acquisition of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.'s Quesnel River pulp mill in British Columbia and Slave Lake pulp mill in Alberta.
Plusgrade Inc.
Acted for Plusgrade in connection with General Atlantic’s strategic investment in the ancillary revenue powerhouse. The investment represents a monumental transaction for the global travel tech sector.
Industrial and Financial Systems AB
Acted for Industrial and Financial Systems AB in its approximately C$1-billion acquisition of Copperleaf Technologies Inc., a provider of enterprise decision analytics software to companies managing critical infrastructure.
The Bidvest Group Limited
Acting for The Bidvest Group Limited, a South African publicly-traded company, in its acquisition of 100% of Citron Hygiene LP, a provider of washroom hygiene products and services in the U.S., Canada and UK, from Birch Hill Equity Partners and other investors.
IIC Canada Annual Conference, “Competition Act Changes”; Ottawa, ON
Oct. 21, 2024
Interview, The Logic, “Helter-skelter reforms to competition rules have Canadian businesses spooked”; Web Publication
June 18, 2024 - Read the article (for subscribers).
Mar. 13, 2024 - The Canadian government recently issued two policy statements (IDM Statements) affirming that it will enhance its scrutiny under the Investment Canada Act (ICA) of foreign investments in the Canadian Interactive Digital Media (IDM) sector. One of the statements sets out the government’s...
Section Chair, CBA Competition Law Fall Conference; Ottawa, ON; Oct. 26 & 27, 2023
Oct. 26, 2023
The Digital Markets and Competition Enforcement Guide, Canada chapter, co-author
Nov. 25, 2022 - Global Competition Review, Second Edition (Law Business Research)
Download the article.
Canadian Internet Governance Forum, Canadian IGF Talks, “A Canadian Competition Policy for the Platform Economy”; Webcast
June 08, 2022
The Digital Markets and Competition Enforcement Guide, Canada chapter, co-author
Dec. 07, 2021 - Global Competition Review, First Edition (Law Business Research)
Download the article.
Public Mergers and Acquisitions in Canada: Overview, co-author
Nov. 01, 2021 - Practical Law – Mergers and Acquisitions Global Guide (Thomson Reuters)
Read the chapter.
July 05, 2021 - Global Competition Review recently featured Davies partner Elisa Kearney for her insights on a parliamentary committee request to ban anticompetitive labour market agreements between rivals after the Competition Bureau was unable to investigate whether three supermarket chains colluded to...
Where Things Stand: Update on the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020
Dec. 22, 2020 - In our November 20 privacy update, we flagged key elements of Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020, a bill that was introduced on November 17, 2020 by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains. Bill C-11 had one day of debate on second reading, on...
New Privacy Law for Canada: Government Tables the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020
Nov. 20, 2020 - With dramatic growth in the global data economy, and increased reliance on online activity as a result of the global pandemic, protection of privacy and personal information has never been as relevant as it is now. Like many other jurisdictions, Canada has recognized the need for a significant...
Are You Prepared for a Search?
Oct. 23, 2020 - The Competition Act provides the Commissioner of Competition with a number of powerful investigative tools in respect of both criminal and civil matters, including the power to obtain and execute search warrants that allow Competition Bureau officers to enter premises and to seize...
Elisa Kearney Shares 2020 Outlook for Foreign Investment with Lexpert
Feb. 24, 2020 - In an article published in Lexpert’s Special Edition: Finance and M&A, Davies partner Elisa Kearney was featured for her insights on the regulatory environment for foreign investors in Canada in 2020. Elisa points out that the Canadian government is generally hospitable to foreign...
Moderator, Canadian Bar Association, Competition Law Fall Conference, “Lessons for 2020 From the Year in Review”; Ottawa, ON
Oct. 17, 2019
Moderator, Data Forum: Discussing Competition Policy in the Digital Era, “The Regulatory and Enforcement Landscape”; Ottawa, ON
May 30, 2019
Co-chair, Canadian Bar Association, Competition Law Fall Conference; Ottawa, ON; Sept. 27 & 28, 2018
Sept. 27, 2018
Canadian Bar Association, Economist Roundtable with the Competition Bureau, “Competition Issues in Markets Involving Platforms”; Toronto, ON
May 16, 2018
Canadian Non-Governmental Advisor and speaker, International Competition Network, Unilateral Conduct Workshop, “Assessing Platform Market Power”; Rome, Italy
Dec. 01, 2017
Canadian Bar Association, Competition Law Fall Conference, “‘Big Data’: What is the Role for Competition Law?”; Ottawa, ON
Oct. 26, 2017
The Canadian Institute, Advertising & Marketing Law conference, “Inter-Jurisdictional Issues”; Toronto, ON
Jan. 24, 2017
CD Howe Institute, What Does the Consumer See? – Content in a Globally Integrated Sector Panel, “The Future of Canadian Telecommunications and Broadcasting”; Ottawa, ON
Nov. 30, 2015
Co-chair, American Bar Association, Section of International Law’s Fall Meeting, “Heightened Activism in Antitrust Merger Review”; Montréal, QC
Oct. 22, 2015
Oct. 20, 2015 - Originally published by Global Legal Group, this article offers practical insight into telecoms, media and Internet laws and regulations in Canada. Download this article.
Canadian Bar Association, Competition Fall Conference, “The New Frontier: Cutting-Edge Issues in Advertising and Marketing”; Ottawa, ON
Oct. 02, 2015
Co-chair, American Bar Association, Section of International Law’s Asia Regional Forum; Tokyo, Japan; Mar. 02 & 03, 2015
Mar. 02, 2015
Presentation: Canadian Competition Law Highlights
Feb. 27, 2015 - Davies partners Mark Katz and Elisa Kearney delivered a presentation on Canadian competition law highlights to the Antitrust Lawyers Study Group, Tokyo, Japan. Download this presentation.
Chair, Canadian Bar Association, National Competition Law Section’s Conference, “Investment Canada Act: A Five Year Retrospective ‒ Experience From the Front Lines”
June 10, 2014
Co-chair, American Bar Association and the International Association of Young Lawyers, Section of International Law and the International Association of Young Lawyers Joint Conference, “Enforcers’ Growing Interest in Transactions That Fall Below Notification Thresholds and Strategies to Apply in Countries with Voluntary Pre-merger Notification Regimes”; Chicago, IL; June 06 & 07, 2014
June 06, 2014
Osgoode Hall Law School, Osgoode Professional Development’s Competition Law Essentials for Corporate Counsel, Business Lawyers and Executives Program, “Pricing and Distribution: New Challenges and Opportunities”; Toronto, ON
Dec. 03, 2013
Insight Information, Law and Practice, “Regulatory Compliance in Business Deals at Home and Abroad”
Mar. 01, 2012
Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Competition/Antitrust
Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Competition/Antitrust
Global Competition Review—Women in Antitrust (2021)
GCR 100 Canada: A Guide to the World’s Leading Competition Law and Economics Practices—Competition & Foreign Investment Review
Global Competition Review’s “40 Under 40” (2016)
The Legal 500 Canada—Competition and Antitrust (Leading Partner)
Lexpert Special Edition: Agribusiness and Cannabis
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Advertising and Marketing Law; Competition Law
Lexpert Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40
The Best Lawyers in Canada—Advertising and Marketing Law; Cannabis Law; Competition/Antitrust Law; Defamation and Media Law; Information Technology Law
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders Competition; Who’s Who Legal: Competition; Who’s Who Legal: Canada—Competition
Expert Guides’ Rising Stars
Solicitor, England & Wales, 2013
New York, 2010
Ontario, 2004
New York University, LLM, 2009
Osgoode Hall Law School, LLB, 2003
McGill University, BA (Hons) (History & Political Science), 2000
American Bar Association
Canadian Bar Association
Canadian Bar Association, Section of Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Executive Committee, chair
Canadian Chamber of Commerce, National Cannabis Working Group, member and lead for industry-led review of the Cannabis Act
C.D. Howe Institute, Competition Policy Council, co-chair; Telecommunications Working Group
Elisa is a guest lecturer in The Regulation of the Canadian Cannabis Industry at Osgoode Hall Law School as well as advanced corporate transactions at University of Toronto Faculty of Law and advanced corporate law at Queen’s University Faculty of Law. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, teaching The Legal Challenges of Digital Environments as part of the new Global Professional Master of Laws program in Innovation, Law and Technology.
