Weekly Roundup: Manitoba Takes the Power Back and Doug Ford Flip Flops on Scalpers
Plus: CBC Marketplace delves into the Kafka-esque nightmare of telecom service and food regulators crack down on grocery chains' fake made-in-Canada labels
Algorithmic pricing took centre stage this week as Manitoba introduced legislation to ban it, closely followed by a national poll that found most Canadians want it made illegal or strictly regulated.
The province’s government signalled back in December that it would take action against algorithmic pricing – also known as surveillance or predatory pricing, which involves charging customers differently for products and services based on what sellers know about them.
Manitoba’s Bill 49, the Business Practices Amendment Act, was publicly introduced on Tuesday and, if passed, would label the use of “personalized algorithmic pricing” online and in stores as an unfair business practice.
A person found guilty of using a customer’s purchase history, socio-economic status or income data, medical history or geographic location to set prices could face a fine of up to $100,000 or 12 months in jail, while a corporate entity could be fined up to $300,000 for a first offence.
Most Canadians support such a ban, according to a poll released Wednesday by Abacus Data, with 52 per cent of respondents saying algorithmic pricing should be outlawed while 31 per cent said it should be allowed but more strictly regulated.
Algorithmic pricing has long been the norm online, used by the likes of airlines and hotels to set prices based on customer data and fluctuating demand. But its implementation has been spreading like wildfire to everything including concert tickets, rents and groceries. Just this past week, for example, news emerged that the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post was getting in on the action by charging subscribers based on their personal data.
Manitoba’s government has taken criticism over the lack of evidence that this sort of pricing was happening in the province, but Premier Wab Kinew this week countered by pointing out that its existence elsewhere was proof enough that it was coming.
“We know that with the increasing cost of groceries and cost of living for Manitobans, that they’re feeling the pinch,” he told reporters. “And we want to make sure that we’re working to get ahead of this issue to ensure that Manitobans aren’t subjected to those same types of risks.”
Pro-competition advocates cheered Manitoba’s ban, but it may just be the veritable band-aid on the real problem – as suggested by Jim Balsillie in a recent Globe and Mail op-ed and here on the Do Not Pass Go podcast last month.
As the former BlackBerry co-chief executive points out, Canada’s lax privacy laws are enabling companies and organizations to harvest vast amounts of consumer data – the actual fuel that enables algorithmic and surveillance pricing. “It’s a new form of authoritarianism,” he said on the podcast.
Balsillie had challenged the federal government to enact stronger privacy protections, but Parliament so far appears to be going in the opposite direction. The Carney government last week rejected amendments proposed by the Senate to Bill C-4 – the “Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act” – that would have added privacy restrictions and limits on how political parties can use voters’ information.
While Bill C-4 largely focuses on implementing tax measures that are indeed related to affordability, its fourth section has been criticized for clauses that exempt political parties from provincial privacy laws. Green Party leader Elizabeth May this week said her fellow Members of Parliament should be “ashamed” for rejecting the Senate’s suggestions to limit those exemptions.
Balsillie applauded Manitoba’s move on pricing in an email to Do Not Pass Go, but reiterated that privacy laws must go hand in hand with affordability measures.
“To properly address these issues, it’s strong privacy and regulations, not or. So, I expect Manitoba to follow this initiative with appropriate privacy legislation,” he says. “As for C-4 Part 4, how can we trust federal political parties to properly govern the digital sphere when they fight so hard to keep it lawless for themselves?”
🕺 ENTERTAINMENT
Speaking of provincial governments trying to tame out-of-control pricing schemes, Ontario looks to be joining the growing number of jurisdictions that are banning ticket scalping. Premier Doug Ford posted as much on X/Twitter on Friday:
Doug Ford@fordnationWe’re putting ticket scalpers on notice: Your days of ripping people off are done.
Toronto Star @TorontoStarDoug Ford wants to outlaw resale tickets that cost more than the original price #onpoli https://t.co/EzjL0tDGXv11:59 AM · Mar 20, 2026 · 219K Views487 Replies · 90 Reposts · 1.64K LikesThe Toronto Star story he points to outlines how the province plans to outlaw selling tickets for more than face value. Ford of course scrapped the previous Liberal government’s legislation in 2019 that would have capped resale prices, calling the measures “unenforceable.” The change of heart may be driven by the realization that scalpers are now using bot armies to instantly buy up all event tickets as soon as they go on sale on TICKETMASTER, then re-listing them seconds later at vastly inflated prices. The United Kingdom, Australia, Quebec and others have realized this and have enacted similar bans.
On the topic of Ticketmaster, the U.S. antitrust trial of its parent LIVE NATION continued this week despite federal prosecutors announcing a settlement with the company last week that surprised everyone – including the judge and the government’s own prosecutor. With 30 states forging ahead with the case, Live Nation chief executive and Thunder Bay, Ont. native Michael Rapino took the stand on Thursday to defend against charges that his company has monopolized the live events business. Rapino deplored as “disgusting” some emails released last week in which his top ticketing executives bragged about “robbing fans blind.” Prosecuting attorneys, however, pointed out that those same executives are still employed and don’t appear to have been disciplined. “We don’t fire easily,” Rapino countered. Separately but related, the question everyone is wondering about last week’s politicized settlement is: What does Kid Rock think about all this? Mr. Rock, who has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of Live Nation’s monopoly but simultaneously a big Donald Trump stan, isn’t mincing words. “This is a joke,” he told Fox & Friends.
Over in the streaming world, AMAZON is raising the cost of its ad-free Prime Video tier by $2 (U.S.) to $4.99 a month in the United States, though it’s unclear if this affects Canadian subscribers. That fee is on top of the Prime program cost, which is $139 a year in the U.S. or $99 (Canadian). Meanwhile, at least one market analyst believes NETFLIX is free to raise prices now that it no longer has regulatory scrutiny to worry about after backing out of trying to acquire WARNER BROS.
And speaking of WARNER BROS., the head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division says PARAMOUNT’s planned acquisition of the movie studio will “absolutely not” have a fast track to approval because of political ties. Paramount is, of course, owned by President Donald Trump buddy Larry Ellison. “The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous,” Omeed Assefi, the DOJ’s acting assistant attorney general for the antitrust division, tells Reuters. No word on whether he winked or was crossing his fingers behind his back while saying that.
📱 TELECOM
The latest CBC Marketplace takes aim at Canadians’ mounting frustrations with getting service – any service – from the nation’s big telecom providers. The program and associated article delve into the Kafka-esque nightmare that is dealing with the likes of BELL, ROGERS and TELUS over price increases, contract issues and other problems. Highlighting the skyrocketing number of complaints being placed with the national ombudsman, CBC talks to customers who lament interminable wait times, dropped calls and incorrect information when they are lucky enough to get through. As one customer says, “It’s impossible to get a single right answer that is consistent through each support agent.” The piece notes that Spain is introducing legislation that would cap service call wait times at three minutes, while Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly – who oversees telecom policies and who recently proclaimed that the government was “hawkish” on competition – sidesteps questions about similar action here. A recent CRTC report painted a rosy picture of service prices supposedly improving, but the steadily increasing wave of customer complaints strongly suggests declining competitive intensity in the sector. It’s worth noting that both Joly and CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides have declined invitations to appear on the Do Not Pass Go podcast, though the door remains open for both.
🛒 GROCERIES
Toronto Councillor Anthony Perruzza made headlines last week by announcing that he wants the city to test run some PUBLIC GROCERY STORES in an effort to create more competition in the sector and drive prices lower. Both the Toronto Star and CBC this week delve into how that might work, which includes conversations with Aaron Vansintjan, policy manager with Food Secure Canada. Vantsintjan tells the news outlets the same thing he explained on our podcast back in January – that public grocery stores absolutely can work if they’re set up with the right distribution network.
Grocery giant LOBLAW last week informed customers of a “low-level” data breach, but this week hacking trackers have suggested the company is downplaying the incident. According to one report, more than 75 million Salesforce records related to Loblaw may be affected. For its part, the company maintains that customer passwords, health information and credit card data were not compromised.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is cracking down on grocery chains including LOBLAW and SOBEYS for misleading shoppers by promoting imported foods as Canadian products. A number of $10,000 fines – for each incident – have already been issued, with the agency also confirming that it is investigating labelling and advertising practices overseen by Sobey’s head office.
💾 BIG TECH
The bad news is a U.S. judge has rejected a class-action case against GOOGLE that alleged the company was overcharging Canadian customers of its Android app store. The good news is that the same judge affirmed Canada as a sovereign state in doing so, which is not nothing in this day and age. The case was brought last year by British Columbia resident Connor Hurley in the U.S. northern California district, alleging that Google was using anti-competitive means to force Canadians to pay “supra-competiive” prices on apps. This week, however, U.S. District Judge James Donato ruled that, “this case concerns Canadian consumers purchasing products in Canada” and that U.S. antitrust laws do not “have any application to conduct within the sovereign state of Canada.” Hopefully the president is listening.
🥊 COMPETITION
To get back to MANITOBA for a second, we missed this last week but it’s too important not to mention this week: aside from getting tough on surveillance pricing, the province is also moving on implementing laws that allow individuals and businesses to fiddle with and fix the goods they buy. Bill 15, the Consumer Protection Amendment Act, seeks to counter the endemic lock-down by manufacturers of a wide range of products, ranging from smartphones to tractors. These lock-downs force consumers to repair their goods only with the manufacturer or its licensed agents, which inevitably drives up costs. Between this and the algorithmic pricing ban… is anyone else who doesn’t already live there thinking about moving to Manitoba?
The COMPETITION BUREAU has released a report on how shared kitchens and food hubs can make it easier for small- and medium-sized business to enter the food market. By sharing commercial-grade kitchens, processing equipment, storage facilities and packaging systems, small companies can reduce costs and their regulatory burdens, the report says. It’s a bit like getting a roommate when you can’t afford the rent on your own.
The CANADIAN ANTI-MONOPOLY PROJECT is hiring. The advocacy group is looking for a communications and partnership lead who can write, edit and coordinate with other organizations. CAMP is accepting applications till April 3, check out the position here.
And finally, in case you missed it, don’t forget to check out this week’s Do Not Pass Go podcast, in which Social Capital Partners chair Jon Shell extols the virtues of EMPLOYEE-OWNED TRUSTS, a new structure that allows owners to sell their businesses to their workers:
🚨 COMING UP
Ever wondered just what the heck the COMPETITION TRIBUNAL is? We’ve got you covered, with recently retired federal court Chief Justice PAUL CRAMPTON joining the podcast on Monday to talk about what this court-but-not-a-court does and how recent changes to Canada’s competition laws are likely to shake things up.
Great compilation, but do change "afford" to "effort"...