Canadian diamond stakeholders are committed to ensure that diamonds represented as Canadian can be authenticated to protect themselves against deceptive practices that may erode consumer confidence and at the same time ensure compliance with the Competition Act.

The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Authenticating Canadian Diamond Claims ("the Code") stems from the Competition Bureau's Enforcement Policy on the Marketing of Canadian Diamonds in respect of when diamonds can be represented as "Canadian" without violating the false or misleading claims provisions of the Competition Act. This policy states that a diamond, which was mined in Canada, qualifies for the purposes of the Competition Act and may be cut and polished in Canada or abroad.

The Code evolved from the collaborative efforts of a broad cross section of the industry including the diamond mining sector, cutters and polishers, retailers, the Canadian Jewellers Association and Jewellers Vigilance Canada as well as the RCMP and other government stakeholders. This Code establishes a minimum standard required to validate a Canadian Diamond claim based on a papertrail and a chain of warranties, which was found to be the most appropriate system to validate claims on the origin of Canadian diamonds.

The Competition Bureau and the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) have endorsed this Code.