{"id":547784,"date":"2026-03-19T23:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T23:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/547784\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T23:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T23:36:15","slug":"algorithmic-pricing-is-being-used-in-canada-why-many-want-it-banned-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/547784\/","title":{"rendered":"Algorithmic pricing is being used in Canada. Why many want it banned – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate algorithmic pricing<\/a>, a new poll suggests \u2014 with half of respondents saying the practice is unfair because it can result in people paying different prices for the same product.<\/p>\n

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The Abacus Data poll, which was conducted online and can\u2019t be assigned a margin of error, polled 1,931 Canadians on algorithmic pricing.<\/p>\n

Around half (52 per cent) of those polled by Abacus said the practice should be banned and 31 per cent said it should be allowed but more strictly regulated.<\/p>\n

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, said that while most people aren\u2019t necessarily familiar with the term, most have felt the effects of algorithmic pricing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say most Canadians feel they have experienced this in some way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe reason why there is so much sensitivity around it is \u2026 basic fairness. It goes to a core principle that \u2026 for the same product or the same service, the price should be the same for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tWhat is algorithmic pricing?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Manitoba government said it would prohibit retailers from using personal data to increase prices for specific consumers. The rule would apply both in person and online.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlgorithmic pricing, otherwise known as dynamic pricing, is when companies use AI and data to set different prices for consumers, depending on whatever attributes they set up,\u201d retail analyst Bruce Winder said.<\/p>\n

This could be based on anything from the income levels and demographic details of the prospective customer to the demand for the good or service.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s a bit of a black box in terms of what are they looking at in that algorithm. Is it my income? Is it where I live? My postal code? Is it my race or ethnicity?\u201d Winder said.<\/p>\n

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Currently, there are no explicit regulations against dynamic pricing, but consumers can report unfair or discriminatory practices to the Competition Bureau, said University of Guelph food economist Mike von Massow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people complain, then they will investigate,\u201d von Massow said.<\/p>\n

Charging people more on the basis of demographic differences might be seen as prejudice, he added.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Competition Bureau also investigated the possible use of artificial intelligence-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets.<\/p>\n

In November, it said that while it hasn\u2019t found evidence that using computer software to recommend rent prices reaches the level of anti-competitive behaviour, it remains concerned about possible issues.<\/p>\n

Some who took part in the Abacus poll expressed worries about the potential for discrimination, a lack of transparency, the effect on the affordability of daily essentials, and privacy and ethical concerns associated with consumer data collection.<\/p>\n

While changing prices depending on demand or time of day is not new in retail, using AI or technology is, von Massow said, adding that some grocery stores are attempting to use algorithms to set prices for loyalty card holders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a loyalty card member, on your app, on your phone, you will get offers for deals on specific things. That is algorithmic pricing. They\u2019re looking at what you\u2019ve bought before, they\u2019re looking at where you are geographically and they\u2019re offering you something that they think you might want,\u201d von Massow said.<\/p>\n

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Many Canadians have already experienced one form of dynamic or algorithmic pricing \u2013 when they book a ride on an app like Uber, Winder said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you book an Uber, and there\u2019s not many drivers on the road during a snowstorm, your rates are going to go way up. But if you book an Uber on a nice sunny day, the weather\u2019s great, there\u2019s lots of drivers on the road, your rate will be a little less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have something similar to this across airlines, hotels and ride sharing. And it\u2019s not about someone\u2019s demographics, or wealth, or income. It\u2019s about time of day and capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, an airline or hotel may automatically raise prices during peak travel season.<\/p>\n

While customers have come to expect wild price swings for ride-sharing services and travel, Winder said brands will have a harder time selling it for more basic items, such as groceries or toilet paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrands can\u2019t have that wide a swing for basic items that we use every day or else their consumers are going to resent them for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember during the pandemic, one store increased the price of hand sanitizer to an incredibly high amount, and consumers just brutalized them on social media. You can\u2019t be seen as a brand or retailer of taking advantage of your customers; that never works in retail.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tDoes food cost more with algorithmic pricing?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Algorithmic pricing has caused a stir in food retail as well, with fast-food chain Wendy\u2019s facing backlash<\/a> from some consumers in 2024 when it tried to introduce dynamic pricing.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, online grocery platform Instacart said it was ending a program where some customers saw different prices for the same product ordered at the same time from the same store when using the delivery company\u2019s service.<\/p>\n

A report from Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups<\/a>, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union, said Instacart offered nearly three out of every four grocery items to shoppers at multiple prices in an experiment.<\/p>\n

For the report, researchers conducted an independent experiment involving 437 shoppers in live tests across four cities in the U.S. It found that dynamic pricing would mean price swings of around US$1,200 on groceries for the average American family.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen prices are no longer transparent, shoppers can\u2019t comparison-shop. When prices are no longer predictable, shoppers can\u2019t properly budget,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate algorithmic pricing, a new poll suggests \u2014 with half…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[213276,45,49,48,1849,156222,46,6578],"class_list":["post-547784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-algorithmic-pricing","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-consumer","tag-dynamic-pricing","tag-economy","tag-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}