Can a buyer insist regulatory approval be obtained before they're required to close?

Yes, and for some deals this isn't just a negotiating preference but a practical necessity. A buyer can make obtaining a specific regulatory approval, licence transfer, or clearance a formal closing condition, and for larger or more complex transactions this is standard practice — a deal that's large enough to require notification to the Competition Bureau under the Competition Act, for instance, generally shouldn't close before that process has run, and a well-drafted agreement builds that timing directly into its conditions.

Beyond size-triggered federal review, plenty of Ontario businesses operate under sector-specific licences or permits that need to be formally transferred or re-approved by a regulator before a new owner can lawfully operate them — a liquor licence, a professional or trade licence, certain health or safety permits. Making the transfer of these a genuine closing condition protects the buyer from closing on a business it can't actually legally run the next day.

Because the specific approvals needed vary enormously by industry, and by whether the buyer is a Canadian or non-Canadian purchaser, identifying every regulatory approval your specific deal actually needs is worth doing early with a Treadstone business lawyer, not assuming standard closing conditions cover it.