No, not looser:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_defamation_law

Professor Brown notes that the common law of defamation has been described by scholars and judges as "artificial and archaic" and characterized by "absurdities", "irrationality", and "minute and barren distinctions"

I wonder how much of these "minute distinctions" need to be removed before Canadian libel law is as bad as America's. Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds discussed not only NYT v. Sullivan, but Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., which redefined "public figure" to mean anyone the media sees fit to demonize. SSRN is down right now, but here is the link to the law paper.

No, not looser:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_defamation_law