This spring, surveillance pricing for groceries hit a nerve for Canadians, sparking a flurry of headlines and policy action.

In March, Manitoba became the first government in Canada to introduce legislation to ban surveillance pricing, with a focus on grocery prices. The law was enacted in June. Federal NDP leader Avi Lewis also advocated for banning surveillance pricing, accompanied by NDP MP Don Davies’ defeated motion in the House of Commons in April. The same week, the Ontario Liberals introduced the Fair Grocery Prices Act, currently awaiting second reading, which proposes a similar ban.

You might find this recent surge surprising, given the ubiquity of these practices. Airlines started experimenting with algorithmic pricing in the 1980s. Consumers are used to surge pricing for flights, hotels and ride-sharing services. Terms like “surveillance capitalism” have even made it into the public vernacular. Yet organized public and policy response to surveillance pricing in general has been lacklustre.

Why are people paying attention now? And what should governments do about it? There are several policy levers that the federal, provincial and territorial governments can use to restrict surveillance pricing in grocery stores before the practice becomes widespread.

Food prices on the rise

Whereas flights are generally considered a luxury purchase, groceries are essential. The idea of paying even more for groceries leaves a bad taste in Canadians’ mouths as food insecurity and the cost of essentials are on the rise.

Nearly one in four households across Canada was food insecure in 2025. The average cost of groceries was 27 per cent higher in 2025 than in 2020. Even as overall inflation began to plateau in 2022, grocery prices continued to rise.

In a 2023 Mintel survey, 83 per cent of surveyed Canadians believed grocery retailers were using inflation as an excuse to price gouge, and 94 per cent believed it especially harmed lower income individuals.

When Loblaw chairman Galen Weston was called to Parliament Hill along with the heads of Canada’s other big grocery chains, he insisted that “the idea that grocers are causing food inflation is not only false, it’s impossible.” Many people had........

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