Consumers could save billions of dollars with more control of data: Comp Bureau

OTTAWA — Canadians could save billions of dollars in both money and time if the country moves ahead with giving consumers more control over their data, a report from the Competition Bureau said Thursday.

The report focuses on data portability, which can allow people to move easily their data stored at one company to another. If policies are put in place, it could allow Canadians to do everything from switching their social media connections and photos from one network to another, to moving an in-progress video game from one platform to another.

The Competition Bureau is pushing the concept because it says a consumer’s ability to switch providers is at the heart of the competitive process, but when data is tied up at one company it gums up the process.

“Today’s economy is data-driven,” Jeanne Pratt, acting commissioner of competition, said in a statement.

“With better data portability, Canadians could take charge of their digital lives, and benefit from more competition in industries like banking, insurance, health care and beyond.”

The agency’s study found that looking at the insurance market, Canadians could save between $1.1 billion and $3.83 billion in annual costs across all insurance products when both time and money savings are factored in.

This includes up to $1.57 billion in monetary savings from switching to less expensive insurance plans, and up to $2.26 billion in value from 61.1 million hours in time savings.

To get to the estimate, the Competition Bureau conducted a survey of 3,046 Canadians to understand how they would respond to the option of sharing the home insurance data at their existing provider with other providers or third-party apps.

The survey also found that about 70 per cent of respondents had no knowledge of data portability, while 66 per cent showed concern for privacy about the idea.

Various forms of data portability have already been implemented internationally. As of the end of 2024, about 60 countries, as well as Quebec, have adopted data portability rights.

There’s a significant push to bring data portability into the banking sector through what’s known as open banking. The United Kingdom has had open banking since 2018, while Ottawa hopes to have a system in place in Canada later this year.

Moving such sensitive data around is not without challenges though, with the report warning of privacy and security challenges and that they can be costly to implement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.

The Canadian Press