Canada’s Competition Bureau is sounding the alarm over policies that it says are keeping lower prices out of reach for Canadians.
The bureau on Monday said it was “concerned that grocery deals are being kept from Canadians” when they use use grocery flyers, apps and online promotions to find deals.
It said that stores aren’t always allowed to advertise their lowest prices because of supplier policies or deals negotiated between suppliers and retailers. Such policies set the lowest price at which a retailer can advertise a product.
The grocery sector uses minimum advertised pricing policies that can prevent retailers from advertising lower prices, even when those are offered in-store, it said.
“Canadians expect grocery stores to be able to advertise their best deals,” said interim competition commissioner Jeanne Pratt. “We’re concerned that policies that prevent this make it harder for grocers to compete, and for consumers to access lower prices.”
Minimum advertised pricing policies can address “free-riding,” or when customers use services at one store for free and then buy the same product at a lower price from another retailer. Such policies would limit the ability of retailers that do not make these investments to attract customers solely by advertising a lower price.
Another is by preserving retail margins, minimum advertised pricing policies may encourage retailers to carry and promote products from newer or less established suppliers that would otherwise struggle to gain distribution and visibility.
The competition bureau said in industries like retail grocery, where a few large companies dominate the retail landscape, such policies can make it harder for retailers, including discount grocers, to offer lower prices and compete for customers.
It said some retailers may remove in-store discounts entirely if they cannot advertise lower prices under those policies.
The bureau is now looking for input from consumers, retailers and suppliers about those policies’ impact on grocery pricing . It said input will support its ongoing examination of the food supply chain, building on a previous retail grocery market study. That study found that greater competition in retail grocery would help lower prices and deliver more choice and innovation for Canadians.
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Competition Bureau says stores don't always advertise the lowest grocery prices
2026-09-28 18:06:11
