{"id":657533,"date":"2026-05-22T01:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T01:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657533\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T01:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T01:25:18","slug":"unlike-ontario-quebec-law-wont-ban-resellers-from-selling-tickets-above-face-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/657533\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlike Ontario, Quebec law won’t ban resellers from selling tickets above face value"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new law capping resale tickets at face value in Ontario may have Quebecers wondering if something similar is possible here \u2014\u00a0especially ahead of a summer packed with high-profile events in Montreal<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Quebec does plan to address the issue of price gouging through a bill set to pass in the near future, but its approach is different. Instead of tackling the price of tickets directly, Bill 10 aims to increase transparency surrounding the resale market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOntario\u2019s approach is more economic, whereas Quebec\u2019s is more transactional,\u201d said Vincent De L\u2019\u00c9toile, partner at Langlois Avocats. \u201cIt addresses the same societal problem, but we have two different approaches to achieving the objective.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ontario\u2019s law, passed in April, made it illegal to resell tickets to events for more than face value. <\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s Bill 10, meanwhile, aims to strengthen existing ticket resale rules<\/a> by requiring that resale platforms clearly identify themselves as secondary marketplaces and inform buyers that tickets may still be available at a lower price through the original seller \u201cas soon as the consumer accesses the platform.\u201d The bill also increases disclosure requirements surrounding the original price and vendor of the ticket and the name of the last person who owned it.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuebec\u2019s regulation is more about governing the sale process and the disclosure of information,\u201d De L\u2019\u00c9toile said. <\/p>\n

A 2011 amendment to Quebec\u2019s Consumer Protection Act already prohibited merchants from reselling tickets above face value without the authorization of the event\u2019s producer, but sales between individuals operated in somewhat of a grey area.<\/p>\n

Bill 10, then, \u201cclarifies the application of Quebec\u2019s resale rules to these digital platforms and online intermediaries,\u201d said Alexandre Plourde, lawyer and analyst at consumer protection group Option consommateurs. But \u201cit does not, in itself, prohibit resale, even though, in practice, resale is often prohibited because the producer has not consented to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plourde said some resale platforms still allow sales above face value without authorization. The group was part of a class-action lawsuit against Billets.ca for that reason, alleging, also, that the platform misled consumers because it wasn\u2019t clear that it\u2019s a resale website. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany consumers believe they are on an official ticketing website when they access it,\u201d Plourde said.<\/p>\n

Event-goers around the world have long complained that tickets sell out within seconds of going on sale, only to reappear online immediately at a steep markup. <\/p>\n

When Ontario\u2019s law passed, fans noticed face-value tickets reappearing on the market shortly thereafter. <\/p>\n

Asked if Quebec\u2019s regulation would make a noticeable difference, De L\u2019\u00c9toile said it could have \u201csomething of a chilling effect on buyers, when they see the markup they\u2019re paying for an event.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt may help regulate resale prices because it will become publicly known that certain market players are taking incredible profit margins,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He added that it\u2019s rare for legislators to intervene on pricing directly, other than in some sectors, like food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tend to leave it to supply and demand,\u201d De L\u2019\u00c9toile said. \u201cOntario chose to legislate in order to prevent bidding wars and excessive profit margins on products, which Quebec, at least for the moment, has decided not to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who authored Bill 10, told CBC News that Quebec stopped short of banning reselling above face value because it would push those sales to the black market \u2014\u00a0an opinion shared by critics of Ontario\u2019s law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt drives sales from regulated platforms with security guarantees to unregulated platforms like Facebook Marketplace which are ripe for fraud,\u201d said David Clement, North American affairs manager for the Consumer Choice Center. <\/p>\n

Clement said the solution would be more competition in the primary ticket market. As it stands, Ticketmaster (owned by Live Nation) is the dominant seller in Canada.<\/p>\n

Plourde agreed that more players in the primary ticket market would ensure better competition. <\/p>\n

He added that Option consommateurs wants Quebec to create an economic analysis team within its Office de la protection du consommateur to monitor markets and competition \u201cparticularly in areas like ticket sales, but also potentially gas and groceries and other sectors.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea would be to make better-informed economic recommendations to properly regulate these markets, which is not easy to do,\u201d Plourde said. <\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t think Bill 10 will be the last time Quebec legislates on ticket resales. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy sense is that we will likely need to intervene again to better regulate this market,\u201d Plourde said. \u201cPerhaps the experience of the coming years will help us figure out how best to do so.\u201d <\/p>\n

kthomas@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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