Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating whether pricing rules set by suppliers or negotiated with retailers are preventing lower grocery prices from appearing in flyers, apps, and online promotions, potentially weakening one of the main ways shoppers compare stores before buying.
The Bureau opened the investigation September 28 into minimum advertised pricing, or MAP, policies. These establish a floor below which a retailer cannot advertise a supplier’s product. A store may still be permitted to sell the item for less, meaning the price available at checkout or inside a store can theoretically be lower than anything shoppers are allowed to see in advertising.
The agency is examining whether MAP policies make discounts harder to find, reduce incentives for retailers to cut prices, create barriers for discount and new grocers, or make retail prices easier to align. It also wants to know whether stores simply abandon discounts when they cannot promote them to attract customers.
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In a fictional example published alongside the investigation, the Bureau describes a supplier setting an advertised-price floor of $2.99 for pasta. A discount retailer willing to sell the product for $1.99 could still be prevented from advertising that price. The Bureau says the retailer could then conclude that the discount is not worthwhile because shoppers cannot discover it before choosing a store.
The investigation arrives while grocery affordability remains elevated even as inflation has slowed. Statistics Canada said food purchased from stores rose 2.8% year over year in August, down from 3.1% in July. Grocery prices were still 29.0% higher than in August 2021.
Minimum advertised pricing is not automatically prohibited under Canadian competition law. The Bureau says such policies may be examined under provisions covering price maintenance, abuse of dominance, or agreements that harm competition, depending on their effects.
There is also an opposing competition argument. The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers told The Canadian Press that advertised-price floors can protect smaller operators from major chains that have greater purchasing leverage and may otherwise promote prices independents cannot match. The group argued that eliminating the policies could deliver short-term savings while weakening smaller competitors over time.
The Bureau has not named any retailer or supplier as a target or alleged that a company has broken the law. It is seeking information from consumers, retailers, suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers as part of its wider examination of Canada’s food supply chain. That broader review is scheduled to move through stakeholder discussions into spring 2027.
