Expert Analysis

Why valuation mistakes usually don’t negate a business sale in Quebec

By Philippe Antoine Couture-Ménard and Emma-Raphaëlle Le Blanc ( July 17, 2026, 12:28 PM EDT) -- A key principle of Quebec contract law is that for a contract to be validly formed, the parties’ consent must be free and enlightened. An error can sometimes vitiate that consent, giving the court grounds to step in, but not every error has that effect. As a rule, a party can’t get a contract annulled just because they later realized it wasn’t a good deal after all, or because they overestimated the economic returns of doing business with the other party....