The Competition Tribunal is a specialized tribunal that combines expertise in economics and business with expertise in law. The Tribunal is strictly an adjudicative body that operates independently of any government department.

The cases it hears deal with matters such as business mergers; abuse of dominant position; agreements between competitors; refusal to comply; price maintenance; other restrictive trade practices; deceptive marketing practices; specialization agreements; delivered pricing; foreign judgments, law and directives that adversely affect economic activity in Canada; and refusals to supply by foreign suppliers.

Matters before the Tribunal are usually of national interest and large in scope and complexity, and can involve significant financial stakes and directly impact on the competitiveness of private enterprise and industry.