Most Canadians want to ban or regulate algorithmic pricing, poll shows

OTTAWA — Most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate the use of algorithms to set prices, a new poll suggests — with half of respondents saying the practice is unfair because it can result in people paying different prices for the same product.

The Abacus Data poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,931 Canadians on algorithmic pricing.

The poll defined algorithmic pricing as the adjustment of prices in real time based on such factors as who is buying, the time of day and browsing behaviour.

Algorithmic pricing is already established in sectors like travel but has been expanding into other markets, such as retail and rental housing. It could, for example, lead to a retailer charging different prices for diapers online, depending on what it can glean about a shopper’s habits.

Half of those polled, 52 per cent, said the practice should be banned and 31 per cent said it should be allowed but more strictly regulated.

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, said that while most people aren’t necessarily familiar with the term, most have felt the effects of algorithmic pricing.

“I would say most Canadians feel they have experienced this in some way,” he said.

“The reason why there is so much sensitivity around it is … basic fairness. It goes to a core principle that … for the same product or the same service, the price should be the same for everybody.”

Vass Bednar is managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute, a think tank that bills itself as advancing policies to “strengthen Canada’s economic resilience, sovereignty and global competitiveness.” She said companies have been using algorithms to set prices for a while.

“What’s newer is the ability to tailor and calibrate prices down to the individual level,” she said. “It’s not a pay-what-you-can type of calculation … It’s built around the maximum willingness to pay.”

Algorithmic pricing is already established in sectors like travel but has been expanding into other markets, such as retail and rental housing.

Coletto said there’s a distinction between an airline charging extra for a last-minute booking and a retailer charging different customers different prices based on factors like past behaviour or what they judge to be the customer’s ability to pay.

Bednar said there is evidence that up to 1,000 data points now go into calibrating the airline ticket price customers see.

Algorithmic pricing is widely used online but is also possible in physical retail spaces.

“Even signage now isn’t static and can change dynamically,” Coletto noted.

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.

“If there are already provinces putting this into … legislation, it means that they are feeling also the political pressure to do something and the risk that might happen if this is just simply left to be unregulated,” Coletto said.

Bednar said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s government is “helping kick-start a national conversation around something.”

She said it “feels like a missed opportunity when our prime minister has signalled that the cost of living is one of his seven key priority areas and we have a minister of AI. We could be talking about how algorithmic systems can and do change pricing for people.”

The federal Competition Bureau launched a public consultation on the issue last year. It noted more than 60 companies in Canada were already using automated systems to help set prices, often in real time, for everything from concert tickets to ride-hailing to hotel rooms.

Some who took part in the study 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.

Last year, the Competition Bureau also investigated the possible use of AI-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets. In November, it said that while it hasn’t found evidence that using computer software to recommend rent prices reaches the level of anti-competitive behaviour, it remains concerned about possible issues.

Bednar said the case didn’t go forward because the bureau didn’t feel the practice was widespread enough.

“Do we care about how widespread it is? Or do we care that it’s happening at all?” she asked. “I would venture that Canadians care that it’s happening at all.”

The Abacus online survey was conducted between March 4 and 11. The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys can’t be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.

— With files from Sammy Hudes and David Baxter

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press