- A Participant or Access Person shall not, directly or indirectly, engage in or participate in the use of any manipulative or deceptive method, act or practice in connection with any order or trade on a marketplace if the Participant or Access Person knows or ought reasonably to know the nature of the method, act or practice.
- A Participant or Access Person shall not, directly or indirectly, enter an order or execute a trade on a marketplace if the Participant or Access Person knows or ought reasonably to know that the entry of the order or the execution of the trade will create or could reasonably be expected to create:
- a false or misleading appearance of trading activity in or interest in the purchase or sale of the security, the derivative, the related security or related derivative; or
- an artificial ask price, bid price or sale price for the security, the derivative, a related security or a related derivative.
- For greater certainty, the entry of an order or the execution of a trade on a marketplace by a person in accordance with the Marketplace Trading Obligations shall not be considered a violation of subsection (1) or (2) provided such order or trade complies with applicable Marketplace Rules or terms of the contract with the marketplace and the order or trade was required to fulfill applicable Marketplace Trading Obligations.
POLICY 2.2 – MANIPULATIVE AND DECEPTIVE ACTIVITIES
Part 1 – Manipulative or Deceptive Method, Act or Practice
There are a number of activities which, by their very nature, will be considered to be a manipulative or deceptive method, act or practice. For the purpose of subsection (1) of Rule 2.2 and without limiting the generality of that subsection, the following activities when undertaken on a marketplace constitute a manipulative or deceptive method, act or practice:
- making a fictitious trade;
- effecting a trade in a security or a derivative which involves no change in the beneficial or economic ownership; and
- effecting trades by a single interest or group with the intent of limiting the supply of a security or a derivative for settlement of trades made by other persons except at prices and on terms arbitrarily dictated by such interest or group.
If persons know or ought reasonably to know that they are engaging or participating in these or similar types of activities those persons will be in breach of subsection (1) of Rule 2.2 irrespective of whether such method, act or practice results in a false or misleading appearance of trading activity or interest in the purchase or sale of a security or a derivative or an artificial ask price, bid price or sale price for a security or a derivative or a related security or a related derivative.
Part 2 – False or Misleading Appearance of Trading Activity or Artificial Price
For the purposes of subsection (2) of Rule 2.2 and without limiting the generality of that subsection, if any of the following activities are undertaken on a marketplace and create or could reasonably be expected to create a false or misleading appearance of trading activity or interest in the purchase or sale of a security or a derivative or an artificial ask price, bid price or sale price, the entry of the order or the execution of the trade shall constitute a violation of subsection (2) of Rule 2.2:
- entering an order or orders for the purchase of a security or derivative with the knowledge that an order or orders of substantially the same size, at substantially the same time and at substantially the same price for the sale of that security or that derivative, has been or will be entered by or for the same or different persons;
entering an order or orders for the sale of a security or a derivative with the knowledge that an order or orders of substantially the same size, at substantially the same time and at substantially the same price for the purchase of that security or a derivative, has been or will be entered;
(b.1) the prohibition in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Part 2 of Policy 2.2 does not apply to certain pre-arranged trades as determined by the Corporation from time to time
- making purchases of, or offers to purchase, a security or a derivative at successively higher prices or in a pattern generally of successively higher prices;
- making sales of or offers to sell a security or a derivative at successively lower prices or in a pattern generally of successively lower prices;
- entering an order or orders for the purchase or sale of a security or a derivative to:
- establish a predetermined sale price, ask price or bid price,
- effect a high or low closing sale price, ask price or bid price, or
- maintain the sale price, ask price or bid price within a predetermined range;
- entering an order or a series of orders for a security or a derivative that are not intended to be executed;
- entering an order for the purchase of a security or a derivative without, at the time of entering the order, having the ability or the reasonable expectation to make the payment that would be required to settle any trade that would result from the execution of the order;
entering an order for the sale of a security or a derivative without, at the time of entering the order, having the reasonable expectation of settling any trade on settlement date that would result from the execution of the order;
(h.1) the prohibition in paragraph (h) of Part 2 of Policy 2.2 does not apply to the sale of a security by:
a person that is deemed to own the security, provided that the Participant has been reasonably informed that the person has a reasonable expectation to deliver such security in such number and form as to permit the settlement of the trade:
1. as soon as all restrictions on delivery have been removed; and
2. by no later than thirty-five consecutive calendar days following the trade date;
- effecting a trade in a security or a derivative, other than an internal cross in a listed security, between accounts under the direction or control of the same person.
If persons know or ought reasonably to know that they are engaging or participating in these or similar types of activities those persons will be in breach of subsection (2) of Rule 2.2 irrespective of whether such activity results in a false or misleading appearance of trading activity or interest in the purchase or sale of a security or a derivative or an artificial ask price, bid price or sale price for a security or a derivative or a related security or a related derivative.
Part 3 – Artificial Pricing
For the purposes of subsection (2) of Rule 2.2, an ask price, bid price or sale price will be considered artificial if it is not justified by real demand or supply in a security or a derivative. Whether or not a particular price is "artificial" depends on the particular circumstances.
Some of the relevant considerations in determining whether a price is artificial are:
- the prices of the preceding trades and succeeding trades;
the change in the:
- last sale price,
- the price that would be used in the determination of the settlement price for a listed derivative,
- best ask price,
- or best bid price
that results from the entry of an order on a marketplace;
- the recent liquidity of the security or derivative;
- the time the order is entered and any instructions relevant to the time of entry of the order; and
- whether any Participant, Access Person or account involved in the order:
- has any motivation to establish an artificial price, or
- represents substantially all of the orders entered or executed for the purchase or sale of the security or derivative.
The absence of any one or more of these considerations is not determinative that a price is or is not artificial.
Defined Terms:
NI 21-101 section 1.1 – “order”
NI 21-101 section 1.4 – Interpretation – “security”
UMIR section 1.1 – “Access Person”, “best ask price”, “best bid price”, “consolidated market display”, “derivative”, “internal cross”, “last sale price”, “listed derivative”, “listed security”, “Marketplace Trading Obligations”, “Market Regulator”, “marketplace”, “Marketplace Rules”, “Participant”, “pre-arranged trade”, “related derivative” and “related security”
UMIR section 1.2(2) – “person” and “trade”
Related Provisions:
UMIR Policy 1.2 Part 3 – interpretation of “ought reasonably to know”
Regulatory History:
Effective April 1, 2005, the applicable securities commissions approved an amendment to repeal and replace Rule 2.2 and Policy 2.2. See Market Integrity Notice 2005-011 – “Provisions Respecting Manipulative and Deceptive Activities” (April 1, 2005).
Effective August 26, 2011, the applicable securities commissions approved amendments to subsection 2.2(3). to (a) insert after the phrase “Marketplace Rules” the phrase “or terms of the contract with the marketplace”; and to (b) delete each occurrence of the phrase “Market Maker Obligations” and substitute “Marketplace Trading Obligations”. See IIROC Notice 11-0251 – “Provisions Respecting Market Maker, Odd Lot and Other Marketplace Trading Obligations” (August 26, 2011).
On March 2, 2012, the applicable securities commissions approved an amendment to repeal clause (d) of Part 1 of Policy 2.2 effective October 15, 2012. See IIROC Notice 12-0078 – “Provisions Respecting Regulation of Short Sales and Failed Trades” (March 2, 2012).
Effective December 9, 2013, the applicable securities commissions approved amendments to the French version of UMIR. See IIROC Notice 13-0294 – “Amendments to the French version of UMIR”.
Effective December 14, 2022, the applicable securities commissions approved amendments to UMIR 2.2(2) and Policy 2.2. See IIROC Notice 22-0140 – “Amendments Respecting the Trading of Derivatives on a Marketplace” (September 15, 2022).
Effective July 27, 2023, the applicable securities commissions approved housekeeping amendments to UMIR to correct inaccurate referencing and typographical mistakes and to ensure consistency between the English and French versions of UMIR. See CIRO Bulletin 23-0107 - "Housekeeping Amendments to UMIR" (July 27, 2023).
Effective August 11, 2026, the applicable securities commissions approved amendments to UMIR Policy 2.2 to add a new deemed-to-own exception with respect to the requirement to have a reasonable expectation to settle. See CIRO Bulletin 26-0067 – “Amendments Respecting Reasonable Expectations to Settle Short Sales” (April 2, 2026).